Banana Cream Pie By Victoria

I was invited to spend some time at the Ameristar Casino and Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri this past week, and was fed food fit for royalty. The chefs were kind enough to spend time with us, and on the last evening of our stay, invited us to try cooking alongside them. The resulting family style feast was incredible. The following is just one of the desserts off of the dessert table. These banana cream pies were thick and rich with sweet vanilla pudding and slices of fresh banana. They were topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce, but the crust deserves it's own remarks. Honestly, one of the best recipes I have ever tasted, the crust is the perfect foil for all that banana goodness. Sweet without being overly so, this is the banana cream pie you remember your grandmother serving you. 

 

 

BANANA CREAM PIE BY VICTORIA

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 3 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 cup all‐purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk 1⁄2 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

5 egg yolks

1⁄4 cup corn starch 8 very ripe bananas 2 cups heavy cream 1⁄2 cup sugar

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small mixing bowl, beat together sugar and butter until soft. Add egg yolk and beat until light. Add flour and salt, stir until mixture is dry and crumbly. Press dough into bottom and sides of a 9‐inch greased pie pan. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.

Bake, rotating pan halfway, just until the crust is lightly browned, approximately 20 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Combine milk and sugar in a medium saucepot. Halve the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the milk and sugar mixture. Add pod into the pot as well. Bring the mixture to a low boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat. Remove the vanilla pod and discard.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolk until frothy. Add the corn starch and whisk to combine. Slowly temper the warm milk mixture into the eggs in a slow stream, continuing to whisk as you pour. Strain this mixture through a fine mesh strainer and return to saucepot. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly, about 8‐10 minutes.

Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap (making sure to touch the wrap to surface of pastry cream so it doesn’t create a crust) and chill 3‐4 hours or overnight.