Banana Creme Pie

I have made this recipe many, many times. The first was for my maternal grandfather, Bop's, birthday, and so I honestly think of this as Bop's Banana Creme Pie. Since then, I have made the pie several more times, for Thanksgiving, for get-togethers for my fraternity, and any other event when I need an easy pie recipe.

Let me reiterate: I love this pie. It is perfect in every way, ESPECIALLY the crust... because of the bananas used in the crust, the crust turns out chewy and delicious. It's the best part of the pie!

Banana Creme Pie

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

For crust

• 2 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. mashed banana
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted

For filling

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. whipping cream
• 1 1/2 c. whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine crumbs, sugar for crust, and bananas for crust. Add the melted butter for the crust, and press mixture onto the sides of a pie pan. Chill for about 30 minutes, or until firm. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and cool completely.
2. In a saucepan, whisk cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add whipping cream and whole milk gradually, then add egg yolks. Cut vanilla bean in half, and scrape seeds into the saucepan, then add pod. Whisk over medium-high heat until thick and boiling. Remove heat, and whisk in butter and vanilla extract. Transfer to large bowl, and chill, stirring occasionally.
3. To assemble pie, cut the remaining bananas into thin rounds. Spread layer of custard cream over the crust, then put a layer of banana. Repeat twice more. Top with whipped cream.

Some Notes:

• Vanilla beans are expensive, but ENTIRELY WORTH IT. I made the pie several times before using real vanilla beans in it, instead opting to up the vanilla extract. While this works, I was astounded by the difference the real vanilla bean made. And yes, if you look hard enough, you can find them at Giant Eagle AND Kroger. So no excuses.
• This is a great base custard recipe, so feel free to use it as a substitute in other recipes. It also doesn't contain gelatin, which is great for us animal-friendly bakers.
• Also, this crust is amazing. I don't really taste much banana flavor in it, and I use it as my go-to graham cracker crust with any pie.

Profiteroles with Caramel Sauce

It's criminal, I know. An entire semester has gone by without a post. In my defense, this was a tough semester educationally, emotionally, and socially. BUT I never stopped baking whenever I was given the opportunity!

One of my favorite classes this semester was People and Cultures of Latin America. We had an evening get together at the professor's house one night, potluck style with all sorts of traditional Latin American foods. I was in charge of the dessert, so I ended up bringing profiteroles with caramel sauce and Mexican tea cookies.

The pictures above don't show the profiteroles (a kind of cream puff popular at weddings in South and Central America) with the caramel sauce, because I made it fresh when I got to the professor's house. That was an experience in itself, cooking with everyone watching me... I got some serious nerves. But these went over really well! They take a lot of time to make, and are technically challenging, but I think they're worth it...

Profiteroles with Caramel Sauce

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

For puffs

• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs

For filling

• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
• 2 c. whole milk
• 2/3 c. whipping cream
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 egg yolks
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• pinch of salt

For caramel sauce

• 1 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. water
• 2/3 c. whipping cream
• 1/4 c. butter, cut into cubes

To Make:

1. Boil water and butter for puffs in sauce pan. Reduce heat to low, and add the flour and salt. Stir until the mixture pulls away from the sides and forms a ball.
2. Transfer to large bowl, and using a mixer, beat in eggs one at a time. Cover and let stand, 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, and butter two baking sheets. Put coupler (with no tip) into a pastry bag, and spoon dough in. Pipe 1 inch rounds onto the baking sheets, and smooth the tops. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Take out of oven and turn off oven. Using a knife, pierce the sides of each puff and put back into oven for 10 minutes with the door ajar.
4. Place the water for filling into a bowl, and sprinkle in gelatin. Simmer in a saucepan milk, cream, and vanilla bean (cut in half with the seeds scraped into the pan).
5. In a large bowl, mix egg yolks, sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually whisk in hot milk mixture, then return to saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until thick.
6. Stir in gelatin mixture. Transfer to bowl, and cover with plastic wrap pressed to the mixture. Chill.
7. Spoon mixture into pastry bag with a 1/4 inch tip, and pipe into completely cool puffs.
8. Stir sugar and water for sauce in a saucepan until dissolved, over medium heat. Turn up heat and boil, without stirring until deep amber in color. Take off heat, and stir in cream then butter. Drizzle over puffs.

Some Notes:

• In the future, I will definitely replace steps 4-6 with the much easier and less gelatin-y cream from my favorite banana cream pie recipe.