- 6
Ingredients
- pie crust lined with chocolate:
- pie crust lined with chocolate
- vanilla pastry cream
- 3-4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsps confectioner’s sugar
- salted bourbon caramel
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsps confectioner’s sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 4 oz. unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- vanilla pastry cream:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsps cornstarch
- 2 tbsps all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 oz. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- salted bourbon caramel:
- 3 tbsps unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsps bourbon, divided
- 1/2 tsp corn syrup
- 1 tbsp water
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
Step 1
Make the crust: Pulse the flour, confectioner’s sugar, and salt together in a food processor until blended. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas. Stir the heavy cream and cider vinegar together in a small bowl or vessel (it will thicken) and pour over the crumbs in the food processor. Pulse until moistened. Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 2-3 times until it just comes together. Shape the disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is 1/8-inch thick and 12 inches in diameter. Fit it to your pie plate and crimp the edges. Refrigerate the pie plate with the pastry for 15 minutes or until chilled.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and prick the pie dough all over the bottom with a fork. Line the pastry with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Remove the pie weights and foil. Bake another 8 minutes until golden (press down any air bubbles). Melt the chocolate on half power in the microwave or over a double boiler. Take the pie crust out of the oven and brush the chocolate over the bottom and sides of the pie crust to form a thin, but solid layer. Let cool.
Make the pastry cream: Heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until the liquid begins to simmer. Turn off the heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, flour and kosher salt together. Whisk the egg yolks in until smooth (it’s quite thick). Whisk a little of the hot milk-cream into the egg yolks mixture, adding a little more at a time until half of the hot liquid has been added to the egg yolks. Pour the mixture back into the pan with the rest of the hot milk-cream and whisk constantly over medium-low heat. It should thicken in a few minutes. When the pastry cream is thick, remove from heat and whisk the butter and vanilla extract in until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the surface of the pastry cream (to avoid developing a skin) and chill.
Make the salted bourbon caramel: In a small saucepan heat the butter, cream, and salt together over medium heat until it begins to boil. Cover and turn off the heat. Stir the sugar, 1 tbsp of bourbon, corn syrup, and water together in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves (it must dissolve or you will brick the whole thing). If the sugar doesn’t seem to dissolve, add a little more water and stir/heat it until it dissolves (which is what I did – it’s fine, the excess water will boil off). Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil without stirring or disrupting the sugar. If crystals form on the edge of the pan, use a wet pastry brush to brush down the sides. Let it boil until the sugar turns deep amber (about 6-8 minutes). Whisk the heated butter-cream mixture into the hot sugar. It should bubble up to 2 or 3 times the volume, but keep whisking until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining tablespoon of bourbon and the vanilla extract. Let cool.
Assemble the pie: Whip the heavy cream and confectioner’s sugar together until medium-stiff peaks form. Try not to overwhip the cream. Spread 1/4 cup of the pastry cream on the bottom of the pie crust. Arrange a single layer of banana slices over the pastry cream. Pour half of the remaining pastry cream over the banana slices. Spread evenly. Arrange another single layer of banana slices over the pastry cream. Spread the rest of the pastry cream over the banana slices. If you have some banana slices left, make a small circle of slices in the center of the pastry cream. Pile the whipped cream in the center of the pie. Drizzle with salted bourbon caramel and reserve the rest of the caramel on the side. Serves 6-8.