Banana and Chocolate Cream Pie Parfaits

By DreiFromBK

To make her outstanding deconstructed banana cream pie, pastry chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka, of Honolulu's MW Restaurant, layers eggless chocolate pudding with cinnamon-flavored graham cracker crumbs, ice cream, bananas and banana whipped cream.

Ingredients

• pudding
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• crumbs
• 9 whole graham crackers, coarsely crushed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of kosher salt
• banana cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup mashed banana
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
• 2 bananas, peeled and sliced, for serving
• 1 pint banana or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Details

Adapted from foodandwine.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the pudding In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and salt with 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Whisk in the cocoa powder, then whisk in the cornstarch slurry and cook until thick, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and butter until smooth. Scrape the pudding into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the 
surface. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the crumbs In a bowl, toss the crushed graham crackers with the butter, honey, cinnamon and salt until evenly moistened.
Make the banana cream In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the cream with the sugar, mashed banana and vanilla seeds to stiff peaks.
Spoon the pudding into six 8-ounce jars or cups. Top with a sprinkling of the graham cracker crumbs, a layer of sliced bananas and a scoop of ice cream. Garnish the parfaits with a dollop of the banana cream and graham cracker crumbs and serve.

Make Ahead

The pudding can be refrigerated for 3 days. The crumbs can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.