Banana Whipped Cream Pie

I was looking for a cream pie recipe and this particular one caught my eye.  Mainly it was the assembly of the custard with the layers of banana slices dipped in syrup.  However, the recipe makes for a tall deep dish pie.  Since I did not have a deep dish pie pan and I was not too keen on 6 inches of whipped cream on the pie, I opted to reduce the whipped cream topping to half.  The recipe below reflects 3/4 of the original amount stated for the whipped cream topping.  Also I used 5 bananas instead of the suggested 8.

For anyone that likes bananas, this pie is definitely for you.  The flavors and textures come together in one great piece of pie. With the fluffy whipped cream, syrupy layers of bananas, rich custard and flaky crust you would think this came directly from a bakery.

Banana Whipped Cream Pie
adapted from Juniors Dessert Cookbook

Ingredients
1 fully baked 9 inch pie crust
2 tbs butter
1tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp banana extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbs flour

Ingredients/Banana layer and topping
4 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp  confectioners sugar
3 cups whipping cream
1/2 plus 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
5 bananas

Start with making the banana custard. In a small bowl sift the cornstarch and flour together.  Then whisk in the sugar and the salt.  Set aside.

Place a saucepan over medium high heat and fill with cream and milk.  Heat until simmer, when small bubbles appear on the outer edge of the liquid.  Then remove from heat.

Using a stand mixer, beat egg yolks for 1 minute on high.  Then add the flour mixture and beat for and additional 3 minutes.  Change to low speed and pour in 1 cup of cream milk blend and beat for 30 seconds.  Then empty ingredients into the saucepan that contains the remaining cream/milk mixture.  Cook, stirring constantly until the liquid turns to a thick custard.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and both extracts.

Pour into a heatproof container and place plastic over the surface of the custard.  Refrigerate for about one hour.  Custard should be thick but not set.

In the meatime, the bananas need to be prepared.  Fill a saucepan with the sugar and water.  Then boil the mixture until it transforms into a syrup.  Then remove from heat.  Take 4 bananas and slice them about 1/2 inch thick.  Using a fork, dip each slice into the syrup and set the slice on a paper towel to cool.  Continue until all the rounds have been dipped.  For the  other banana, slice in half horizontally or lengthwise. Place a cooling rack over a piece of waxed paper.  Dip the long slices in the syrup and place on rack to drain.

To make the topping, place the cream in a bowl and whip on high for 2 minutes.  In a small bowl, mix together the cream of tartar and the confectioners sugar.  Then turn on the mixer again to beat the cream and add the tartar/sugar mixture.  Lastly, add the vanilla and continue to beat.  It should fluff up to be smooth and still flow some.  Over beating will cause it to curdle.

Fold 1 cup of the cream into the custard.  Put the filling in the pie shell, smoothing the surface to where it is even. Cover the custard with a layer of whipped cream, about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Then place the small slices of bananas on top in circles from outside in. Chill the pie for about 2 hours to set .

After chilling, pipe the cream with sweeping swirls, going around from the outer edge to the center. When finished swirling, all the bananas should be covered and the whipped cream about 2 inches high.  Cut the long slices of the bananas in half and place them vertically from the top to the crust edge of the pie.  Think of it like a tee-pee.

Refrigerate again for about 2 hours before serving.  The pie is best served the same day but can be leftover for 1 day and served as well. Do not freeze.
                              **LAST YEAR:Chocolate Parthenons**

Baked Lemon Cake Puddings

I had bookmarked these several months ago, but the book somehow got put back on the shelf with the bookmark still in it.  I just came across it recently.  Now I am wondering,what else has a bookmark.  At least I came across it now, so I was happy to make these.

This recipe is a concoction which allows the cake part to float to the top and the custard part to float to the bottom.  While there was not a big distinction between the cake and pudding layer, I did find these to be tasty.  They were a nice change from the chocolatey cake I made earlier this week.

I love all things citrus-my favorite fruit drink is lemonade.  You will not see me drinking tea or soda if lemonade is around, regardless of the weather.  When I took of spoonful of this cross between a cake and a pudding, I was quite taken.  Fluffy in some areas and silky smooth in others, the texture was pleasing to the palate.  Also, the tart lemony flavor was pretty addicting, so it was very difficult not to eat the whole thing.  It had just the right amount of tartness, not mouth puckering but enough for you to notice the zing. 

I filled two 16 ounce ramekins to make mine.  The recipe below is for six 6 ounce custard cups or ramekins.  Also, you can use a 1 quart casserole dish.  The cooking time should be about 55-65 minutes for the casserole dish.

Baked Lemon Cake Puddings
adapted from Good Housekeeping Book of Desserts

Ingredients
3 tbs flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 tbs melted butter
2 eggs, whites and yolks separated
2 medium sized lemons

Grease all the inside of the ramekins or custard cups.  Set aside.

Zest the lemons to make 1 tablespoon.  Then squeeze out 1/3 cup of lemon juice.

Fill a small bowl with the egg whites and salt.  Beat until soft peaks form and continue to beat, slowly adding 1/2 cup of sugar.  Beat at high speed until the mixture reaches the stiff peak stage.

Take out another bowl and beat egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.  Then add all the other ingredients and beat until well blended.  Fold the egg white mixture into the batter with a whisk or spatula, folding until no white streaks remain.

Then boil about 6 or 7 cups of water in a saucepan.  While this is coming to a boil, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Evenly fill the custard cups with the batter and place in a 9X13 inch pan and place on oven rack.  Fill the pan with the boiling water so it comes halfway up the sides of the custard cups.  Slide rack with pan back into oven and bake until tops are golden and firm.  This should take about 40-45 minutes.  Remove and let custard cups cool on wire rack before serving.

Coconut Custard Bars & Holiday Blogging Status

I have been craving some coconut pie recently and I did not want to make a large one.  In reviewing some recipes, I came across this one for these bars.

The bottom is a shortbread crust and the middle is a smooth custard with rum and coconut.  It is all topped with chopped cashew nuts.   In reviewing several recipes, they do use coconut milk in the custard, which is the accepted standard.  For those of you looking for a blast of coconut, note that these bars have only a subtle flavor of coconut.

They are a tasty stack of layers.  The sweet buttery pastry crust is a nice base for the silky custard.  The custard has notes of rum and a bit of chew from the coconut.  Also, regarding flavor and texture, the cashew crunch on top does so much more for the custard than the standard coconut topping that you get with a pie.

Also, please note that I will be on holiday from 11/22 thru 11/29.  I have someone that will be releasing posts that I have in edit mode.  However, since I will be unavailable to comment or answer any questions, my comments will be closed at noon CST on 11/22 and opened back up at noon CST on 11/29.  I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Coconut Custard Bars

adapted from The Good Cookie Cookbook

Ingredients/Crust
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 tsp cold water
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter, cut into cubes
1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch square baking pan and line bottom and 2 sides with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side.

Sift together flour and salt.  Then whisk in sugar.  Using a pastry cutter, blend in butter cubes until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.   Make a well in the center of  the dough and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat together water, egg yolk and vanilla extract until completely blended.  Pour into dough and mix with a wooden spoon until dough forms a smooth clump and no dry streaks remain.

Press dough into bottom of pan, making sure it reaches all corners and has an even thickness.  Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until it has a golden hue.  Remove and let cool completely in pan before filling.

Ingredients/Filling & Topping
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 tbs dark rum
1 egg yolk
2 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbs flour
pinch of salt
1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup toasted cashew nuts, chopped (salted or unsalted, your preference)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the shredded coconut of the cooled pastry crust.

Then place the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in a medium sized bowl.  Using a wire whisk, blend the ingredients until smooth.  Then add 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and blend with the wire wisk.  Continue adding the coconut milk in 1/4 cup increments and whisking after each addition until no more milk remains.  Then stir in the flour, vanilla extract, rum and salt.

Holding a sieve over the pan with the crust and coconut, pour the filling into the sieve. Move the sieve around so the filling falls in more than one area of the crust.  You do not want all the coconut to float to the outer edges, so moving it keeps this from happening. The filling should cover the whole top of the crust.  Lastly, sprinkle the cashews evenly over the top.

Bake for 25-40 minutes or until the filling is set.  Mine took about 35 minutes.  Remove pan and let cool completely.  Then slide a knife between the bars and the pan on the sides without parchment.  Lift bars out of pan and place on platter.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before cutting and serving.  Bars should be refrigerated for storing.
                                              **LAST YEAR: Whole Grain Mustard Rolls**