Sunny Banana Cream Pie Food

BANANA CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pulse the cones, salt and sugar in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Press on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes; let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Bring 2 cups milk to a bare simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar and the vanilla in a large bowl until smooth and pale. Whisk in the cornstarch. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg mixture, then pour into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens and begins to bubble, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter until melted. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; set aside to cool, stirring frequently.
• Put the remaining 2 tablespoons milk and the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave 1 minute. Stir until the chocolate melts, then let cool slightly.
• Spread the chocolate over the bottom and up the sides of the crust. Press the bananas into the chocolate, then pour the custard over the bananas. Cover and chill until set, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and half of the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and beat until opaque. Add the remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, about 5 more minutes.
• Swirl the meringue on the pie with the back of a spoon. Bake until golden brown in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Let sit at room temperature until set, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

BANANA CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Prepare and bake the crust.
• To make the filling, combine 2 cups milk, sugar and salt in a non-reactive saucepan; whisk once to mix and bring to a boil over low heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup milk in a mixing bowl and whisk in cornstarch, then eggs. Return milk and sugar mixture to a boil over low heat then whisk about a third of it into the egg mixture. Return milk and sugar mixture to a boil once more and whisk in the egg mixture, whisking constantly until the filling thickens and comes to a boil. Allow to boil, whisking constantly, for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and vanilla; pour into a non-reactive bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the filling and chill until it is approximately 75 degrees. Fold the bananas into the cooled filling and spread it evenly in the cooled crust.
• To finish the pie, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it holds a firm peak. Use a hand mixer on medium speed or a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the whisk. Spread the cream over the filling, making sure it touches the edges of the crust all around.
• To mix the dough by hand, combine flour, salt and baking powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir well to mix. Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and add to dry ingredients. Toss once or twice to coat pieces of butter. Then using your hands or a pastry blender, break the butter into tiny pieces and pinch and squeeze it into the dry ingredients. Keep the mixture uniform by occasionally reaching down to the bottom of the bowl and mixing all the ingredients evenly together. Continue rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse-ground cornmeal and no large pieces of butter remain visible. Sprinkle the minimum amount of water over the butter and flour mixture and stir gently with a fork -- the dough should begin holding together. If the mixture still appears dry and crumbly, add the remaining water, 1 teaspoon at a time for the smaller quantity of dough, a tablespoon at a time for the larger quantity, until the dough holds together easily.
• To mix the dough in the food processor, combine flour, salt and baking powder in work bowl fitted with metal blade. Pulse 3 times at 1-second intervals to mix. Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and add to work bowl. Process, pulsing repeatedly at 1-second intervals, until the mixture is fine and powdery, resembles a coarse-ground cornmeal and no large pieces of butter remain visible--about 15 pulses in all. Scatter the minimum amount of water on the butter and flour mixture and pulse 5 or 6 times -- the dough should begin holding together. If the mixture still appears dry and crumbly, add the remaining water, 1 teaspoon at a time for the smaller quantity of dough,one tablespoon at a time for the larger quantity, until the dough holds together easily.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a disk (two equal disks for the larger amount of dough). Sandwich the disk(s) of dough between two pieces of plastic wrap and press it into a 6-inch circle. Refrigerate the dough until firm, or until you are ready to use it, at least 1 hour.

BANANA CREAM PIE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Mix for 1 minute. Add the butter and mix just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir the water and vinegar together, then gradually add to the flour mixture. Mix at medium speed just until a dough forms. Do not over-mix.
• Divide the dough in 2 and shape into round, flat disks on sheets of waxed paper. Wrap separately and refrigerate for 30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin into a large circle about 1/8-inch thick. Place your pie plate upside down on top and trim with a sharp knife, leaving about 2 inches extra dough all the way around. Roll the dough circle up onto your rolling pin, then unroll it into the pie plate; or, fold into quarters, transfer to the pie plate, and unfold. Gently press the crust into place, turning any excess dough hanging over underneath to create a thicker edge. Press the edge with the back of a fork to create a decorative edge. Repeat with the other piecrust and leave covered for 30 more minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line each crust with a sheet of regular-weight aluminum foil, then pour in about 3/4 pound dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crusts 25 to 30 minutes, just until dry and set - then remove the foil and beans. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, checking frequently to prevent over-baking. Remove from the oven immediately and let cool on wire racks.
• Banana Cream Filling: Combine the milk, salt, and vanilla bean in a non-aluminum pan and heat, stirring occasionally. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, turn off the heat and stir the mixture for 1 minute. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale yellow, then gradually whisk in the cornstarch. Gradually whisk in half of the hot milk mixture.
• Pour the yolk-milk mixture back into the saucepan with the milk mixture and cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture boils and begins to thicken. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes more, until the mixture no longer tastes starchy. The mixture should become very thick, like a set custard. When cooked, turn off the heat. Stir in the butter until it melts completely and fold in the bananas.
• Pour the filling into the pre-baked pie shells. Push the banana slices below the surface to prevent them from browning, then smooth the tops. Cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing the plastic wrap against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least 7 hours or overnight, and serve with whipped cream.

SUNNY BANANA PIE

Steps:

• Slice bananas in pie shell.
• Put the cream cheese in a bowl with 1/2 of the milk and beat until smooth. To this add the pudding and the rest of the milk. Beat 3 minutes. Pour into pie shell over the bananas. If you like you can garnish with graham cracker crumbs or toasted coconut.
• Put into refrigerator until set and ready to serve.

SUNNY BANANA PIE

Steps:

• Slice bananas into crust.
• Slowly add 1/2 cup milk to soften cream cheese.
• Mix until well blended.
• Add pudding mix with remaining milk.
• Beat one minute.
• Pour into crust.
• Chill.
• Garnish with coconut.