Feeding the love

When you want to show someone how much you care, you make something that will make them happy. This was the meal plan for Tuesday.

When we wandered through Amana, Iowa on the way to our daughter's wedding in early July, my husband was delighted to find mini banana cream pies out on the dessert cart. I knew he liked them but had forgotten just how much he really liked them. So when my local market had a 10 pound box of bananas for just $3, I knew that banana cream pie would be part of the banana useage. Yes, there would be banana nut muffins, banana bread, smoothies with bananas but the key useage would be at least one banana cream pie for Jeff.

Having made banana nut muffins and seen that the bananas were at the perfect ripeness for banana cream pie. I started by making my grandmother's pie crust blind baked to a light golden flaky crust.

Grandma's Pie Crust

2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Crisco
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Oil
1/3 Cup Very Cold Water

Beat oil and cold water well with fork, set aside. Cut Crisco into flour and salt. Add oil and water into flour mixture until you get a nice dough. Chill for a couple of hours. When ready to use, roll between waxed paper. Makes 3 crusts.

I blind baked the pie with weights over waxed paper about 20 minutes and then removed the weights and paper and returned crust to the oven for 5 more minutes until golden.

At this point I was tempted to use the pudding version of banana cream but decided to make the pastry cream from scratch, something I haven't done in a while. Pulling out my trusty cookbooks (yes, I have a passion for them!) I decided to use the recipe in one of my favorites: How to Bake by Nick Malgieri. The Pastry Cream recipe is on page 368 and I used the recipe for two cups worth of filling. A great recipe which has fantastic results. The pastry cream was then chilled overnight before assembling the pie. You can use the warm cream and assemble then chill the pie if you are making the pie for the same day.

To Assemble the pie, I used 4 ripe but not mushy bananas. You want to use the bananas that are soft and ripe but with a firm creamy texture, easy to slice. If the bananas have started to go transparent, they are too ripe and better used for other baking. Slice the bananas into nice sized slices and cover the bottom of the pie crust. I like to lay the slices out and then create a second layer that overlaps the first. Spoon on the pastry cream and smooth. Return to the refrigerator to chill with plastic wrap laying on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent skin from forming. Just before I'm ready to serve, I like to whip the cream so it is at it's fluffy best.

Whipping cream is simple and the results are so much better! Pour the heavy whipping cream into a chilled mixing bowl. Beat the cream at a medium speed with a wire wisk for a few minutes until cream starts to set. The reason for medium speeed at this point is that if you start with full liquids at high speed you will be cleaning the walls and surfaces around the mixer as the liquid splashes out! Once you have gotten the cream to a soft peak, add in a teaspoon of vanilla and some sugar. Several people recommend using granulated sugar but I like the texture and taste of powdered sugar. You will want to sweeten to taste, I typically use 2-3 teaspoons of sugar per pint of heavy cream. Keep whipping the cream but now at high speed for a few more minutes until you get a nice stiff peak when you pull the beater out of the mix. Spread on top of the pie (remember to remove the plastic wrap) and just make pretty decorative swirls with a spoon or spatula, piping it out in decorative swirls is nice but in this case, not really needed.

The pie was appreciated as he had two slices, one before and one after dinner which was a Cornish Pasty which will be the subject of my next blog. So to appreciate the ones you love, make them something they love and appreciate.

Tricia