Banana cream pie
A girl's night in called for something sweet and decadent, and banana cream pie seemed to fit the bill. I'd actually never made or even had banana cream pie before, so this was an exciting prospect. It does take a little bit of planning, as several components need to chill or freeze for up to several hours at a time.
Recipe
from The Best RecipeServes 8½ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar¼ cup cornstarch⅛ tsp salt5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten2 cups 2% or whole milk½ cup evaporated milk½ vanilla bean, about 3" long, split lengthwise2 tbsp unsalted butter1-2 tbsp brandy1 pre-baked pie shell coated with graham cracker crumbs, fully baked and cooled completely2 bananas, slicedWhipped cream topping1 cup heavy cream, chilled1 tbsp sugar1 tsp vanilla extractFor pie dough: I actually just used my mother's pie dough recipe (as this recipe called for using shortening, which I don't have). When rolling out the dough, sprinkle the work surface with 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs. Sprinkle more over the dough itself. Continue sprinkling additional crumbs underneath and on top as it is rolled, making sure to coat dough heavily with crumbs. Fit graham-cracker-crusted dough into pie plate and refrigerate for 40 minutes and then freeze for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or rice. Bake until dough dries out, about 17 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and continue baking about 15 minutes more until deep golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.For the filling: Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt in medium saucepan. Add yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in milk and evaporated milk. Drop in vanilla bean. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently at first, then constantly, as mixture starts to thicken and begins to simmer, 8-10 minutes. Once mixture simmers, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat; whisk in butter and brandy. Remove vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and whisk them back into filling.Pour filling into shallow pan (another pie pan works well). Put plastic wrap directly over filling surface to prevent skin from forming; cool until warm, 20 to 30 minutes. Pour half of warm filling into pie shell. Distribute banana slices over the filling then top with remaining filling. Place sheet of plastic wrap directly over surface. Refrigerate pie until completely chilled, at least 3 hours.For the whipped cream: Beat cream and sugar in electric mixer at medium speed to soft peaks; add vanilla. Continue to beat to barely stiff peaks. Spread over filling and refrigerate pie until ready to serve.
Musings
A few notes on preparation: We didn't have vanilla bean, so I put in 1 tsp of vanilla extract instead. In the interest of time, I also only chilled the pie crust for 20 minutes and froze it for 15 minutes.In the end, I think the pie was a success. I used very ripe bananas, which gave the pie a strong, rich banana flavour. I was a bit worried that the whole thing would be too sweet, but it ended up being nicely balanced. The crust was a bit thick, which was likely a produce of my not rolling it out thin enough (as I'd used the full pie dough recipe). It was also not as pretty as I'd hoped when you sliced out a piece. The filling and whipped cream weren't as cleanly differentiated. Nonetheless, it was tasty enough for seconds for several folk (including me!) and made for a delicious brunch-time snack the next day.