Above a buttery cinnamon crust, banana couples with chocolate, who commingles with coconut under the fluff of vanilla whipped cream. Stars align and dreams come true in creamy cohabitation.
I have a long running fantasy. Weaving through favorite restaurants, taking tiny bites from table to table. A step, fork, spoon, a never forgotten elderly woman reading. She says “sit, stay awhile.” Braided conversation about her son, the haunted corner drugstore, a secret pie recipe. Stay forever, okay : )
I won’t dare reach into your plate (unless your name starts with D ending in E), but if something screams, then I want!
Food entices! but not every whole meal, so littles of this and bites of that make overall spectacular. I guess that’s why my mom loves dim sum.
Satisfied. When leaving the table, a meal, do you agree satisfaction is crucial? I don’t mean, “I’ve had enough, thank you.” I mean good and fulfilled! Do you notice how small amounts of worthwhile ingredients banish reaching and rummaging for more.
Food fantasy is where recipes begin and 4am ideas spring, especially the pie variety ; )
PIE LIGHTS
- Crunch then sink into a buttery cinnamon spiced graham cracker crust. Here ye, here ye, one of three places an upstanding pie shall start. At least in my book. Back to the crust, take twelve full sheets or 1-3/4 cups then six tablespoons butter if you live down under (sea level) and 7.5 if up high (in altitude). With a stir of cinnamon and salt, all is right in the crust world.
Chocolate Banana Coconut Cream
- There are a few steps in making the chocolate banana coconut cream but nothing overly difficult and often therapeutic ; )
- A 4am thought, makes a first attempt pie video that night. Side note, this video holds significance because we made a handful of days before the world flipped topside down.
Bananas
Slice – I like to slice the bananas moderately thin, so delicate with good bite and structure. I also like the look when cut on a bias, but take knife and do your thing.
Freshen – Add the sliced bananas to a small bowl and gently stir with a tablespoon or two of orange juice. This will keep bananas from discoloring.
Fresh Whipped Cream
Have you made fresh whipped cream? If not, let today be the day. Then maybe you’ll write, asking why I encouraged the making of fresh whipped cream! Can’t. stop. and wish I never knew about the fluff of Gods!
If you’re with me — let’s whip!
- For a whip that keeps form, look for a heavy whipping cream that says 6 grams in the fat category.
- Freeze a deep metal or glass bowl and beaters for ten to fifteen minutes.
- The whole way through making whipped cream, try to keep focus on the whipped cream because once stiff peaks form, they begin to deflate. This happens fast and can go unnoticed if not paying attention. Can you tell I come to you from losing precious whip?
- Remove frozen bowl and beaters. Plug the metals into the machine. Add cold cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. If you have a plug by the sink, place the bowl in the sink.
- Start on low-medium, so as not to wear the whipped cream and spray counter/floor/animals, etc. When the cream thickens, taste. If more sugar/paste/extract wanted/needed, add. When stiff peaks form (they’ll be standing thick), stop.
- Refrigerate until ready to pipe/layer
PIE PLATE SIZE
- The picture shows a 10.5″ deep pie plate, and formed the graham cracker crumbs almost all the way to the top so the filling rises flush to the crust.
– pie –
Like never before,
And ever again.
Cream Pies Galore:
Chocolate Coconut Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients:
9" Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 3/4 cups, twelve sheets graham cracker(s)
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 7½ Tablespoons butter, melted at sea level, 3/4 butter (6 Tablespoons)
Chocolate Banana Cream
- 3 medium bananas - sliced
- 2 Tablespoons orange juice
- 3/4 cup cane sugar
- 3½ Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2½ cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks, large
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon (fresh) ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate - fine chopped
- 1/3 cup unsweetened fine flake coconut - toasted or un-toasted
Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
Garnish
- 1 Tablespoon toasted coconut flakes and chips
- 1 Tablespoon toasted hazelnuts
Instructions
9" Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter your pie pan with a light coat, then set aside.
- Crumb graham crackers in a food processor. Pulse until the crumbs are fine and uniform in size.
- Combine graham crackers, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well, then add the melted butter. Stir with a fork, then with your hands, coat until the butter is even in distribution.
- Spread the crumbs even across the bottom of the pie plate. With your hands, a tart tamper, or the back and side of a small measuring cup, press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- On the center oven rack, bake the crust for about 7 minutes. The crust won't turn golden, but when finished, will smell graham cracker fragrant. Let the crust cool on a wire rack.
Chocolate Banana Cream
- In a small/medium sized bowl combine sliced bananas and orange juice. Stir gently so as not to disturb banana's beautiful shape.
- In a medium-size saucepan, whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Whisk in milk and egg yolks. Run a spatula along the corners and bottom of the saucepan, making sure the mixture is well combined.
- Place the saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk nonstop until the mixture boils and thickens, about 6-7 minutes. Continue stirring for 60 seconds. Remove from heat— whisk in butter, one piece at a time until melted. Whisk vanilla, nutmeg, clove, then chocolate in a couple batches, stirring until melted, then fold in coconut. Let mixture cool for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- In this 5 minutes, layer the sliced bananas in concentric circles along pie pan bottom. Give the chocolate banana one last good stir and layer the creamy dreamy to pie crust top.
- A couple options for preventing a skin from forming:Press a piece of plastic over the surface (leaving little gaps or air pockets) of the pie. Glide a piece of butter across the surface of the pie, then press a (preferably unbleached) piece of parchment paper over (leaving little gaps or air pockets) the pie.Place the pie on a wire rack and let cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
- About 15 minutes before you're ready to serve, chill a medium-size (preferably glass or metal) deep bowl and beaters from your electric mixer in the freezer.
- Using an electric mixer, start at low/medium speed. Beat the heavy cream until it starts to thicken. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla bean paste or extract. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Avoid over beating. Place the whipped cream in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- On a piece of aluminum foil spread both coconut flakes (chips, if using) and nuts. Place the foil directly on the toaster oven rack. Turn dial or set to medium. The coconut and nuts are fairly quick to brown, so keep a watchful eye. Once golden and fragrant, remove from the oven. If left on the foil, both will continue to cook, so cool on a plate or in a bowl.
Pie Assembly
- Pipe or spread the whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted coconut and crushed/whole hazelnuts.Slice, share the love.
Notes
- If making a cream pie for the first time, at about the seven minute mark, you'll feel the pastry cream thicken.
- Orange juice helps prevent bananas from turning brown. Lemon juice can be used as well.
- For pie, I like to cut bananas on the thinner side and on a slight bias.
- Instead of sweetened coconut, we use unsweetened. We never increase the sugar to compensate and think the result is plenty sweet.
- Coconut Cream Pie keeps (whipped) in the refrigerator (best) for up to three days.
