Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie

       Even the name "banana cream pie" promises you comfort, love and butter. 

       What else do you need in life?! 

       This is the first cream pie I have ever made... and god it was scrummy! 

        Now get ready,...Get set, bake! Ooops I mean refrigerate! No oven fuss with this recipe!! Enjoy! 

      Ingredients 

      Banana cream ingredients 

• 225g of over ripe bananas ( brown bananas have the most flavour!)
• two separate measurements of double cream one 90ml and one180ml 
• 60 ml of full fat milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 sachets of powdered gelatine (or two leaves of gelatine)
• 40g butter
• 25g cornflour 
• 160g icing sugar
• 100g sugar
• 2 or 3 drops of yellow food colouring

      Chocolate crust ingredients

• 200g butter 
• pinch of salt
• One and a half packets of chocolate biscuits (preferably bourbons or oreos!)

      Garnish ingredients  

• 3 tbsp grated chocolate 
• 1tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 ripe bananas (yellow)
• 100ml whipping cream

Method

Use a blender to puree the bananas, cream (80ml) and milk together. When the mixture becomes smooth. add the sugar, cornflour and egg yolks to the blender. Blend until the mixture increases in size and is thick and creamy. 

Pour the mix into a saucepan, whisk it on a low heat, it will thicken (this is because of all the cornflour in the mix) we want too whisk the mix until it has a glue like consistency, it is important to cook it long enough to bake out the starch from the cornflour. Leave to cool for a minute then pour the mix back into the blender!

If you're using powdered gelatine or a vegetarian alternative, follow the directions on the pack, I promise the water you add to the powdered alternative will not change the consistency of mix.

 If you are using gelatine, leaves soak in cold water (add some ice cubes) for two minutes then gently squeeze the excess water from the leaves.

Put your gelatine or gelatine alternative into the blender, add the butter and blend the banana mix, gelatin and butter together. Now drop in some yellow food colouring until it looks like its from a cartoon, give it another whizz in the blender then decant into a big bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge to set for 40 minutes. 

While your banana mix is chilling, whisk 180 ml of cream with the icing sugar (it will only take a minute or two because the icing sugar will thicken it very quickly). Now put this mixture to the side while we make the chocolate base!

Time to make the buttery biscuit base ...base (sorry couldn't help myself!)

Put whatever chocolatey biscuits your heart desires into the blender, whizz it until it looks like edible gravel. Melt your butter in a small pan, when the butters melted but it in a mixing bowl with your chocolate gravel mix until it thoroughly combined.

Get a 25 cm cake pan or pie dish, grease the inside with butter. Tip the chocolate mix into the cake tin using a fork, press the mix down until compact. Put the biscuit base in the fridge then retrieve the banana mix from the fridge, stir the cream mix into the banana mix until gloriously yellow and creamy. Now place the mix back into the fridge and leave for ten minutes.

Ten minutes later... get the base and the banana mix out of the fridge. Time to assemble your masterpiece!

Slice your ripe bananas thinly and whip the 100 mls of cream.

Place half of your banana cream onto the chocolate base, smooth it over, place half the banana slices on top of the layer of banana cream. Pour the rest of the banana cream on! Smoothing it down appropriately, Place the rest of the banana slices in a pattern of your liking over the banana cream. Grate the nutmeg over the pie, dollop your cream onto the middle of the pie and generously sprinkle the grated chocolate over the top. 

And voila!

Banana cream pie!

 You're welcome.