Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
We’re not very good at making decisions. It took us 3 months to pick out a sofa for our living room. Out kitten Sgt. Pepper was nameless for nearly a week. I ordered and returned 8 different pairs of winter shoes before I finally liked one enough to keep.
Decisions are not our strong suit.
I mean, who in their right mind can choose between chocolate or banana cream pie? Chocolate, is, well, chocolate. You can’t go wrong with chocolate. But banana… something about it just makes me happy inside. I can’t remember the last time I actually ate a banana cream pie, yet the memories of the flavor are fresh in my mind. Hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the thought of its creamy goodness out of my head. At least I knew I wanted to make a cream pie, that was easy. But deciding between chocolate cream pie or banana cream pie? Impossible.
So, I did what any obsessive, indecisive, sweet-toothed baker would do when faced with such a dilemma.
I made both.
The results were incredible. So much so, in fact, that I’m planning to make a second pie this weekend. And maybe another pie every weekend after that. This pie is so good that I cannot picture my life without it.
This pie begins with a chocolate pastry crust, filled with a layer of rich vanilla cream. Topped with a layer of sliced bananas. Chocolate cream over that. And finally, topped off with a thick layer of freshly whipped cream and sprinkled with chocolate curls. Holy indulgence.
I know it’s the New Year diet season and all, and your resolutions are probably still going strong. Sorry. I just couldn’t wait to post this any longer. Consider this a reward after two weeks of good behavior.
You totally deserve it.
Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
Ingredients:
For Pie Crust:
1 cup plain all purpose flour
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugarFor Filling:
3/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips2 medium bananas, sliced
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanillaChocolate curls, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Prepare pie crust according to the technique outlined here, adding in cocoa powder and sugar. Roll out and gently press into a 9" pie pan. Place pan and crust in the freezer for at least 10 minutes prior to baking (or while your oven is preheating).
Line crust with foil or parchment paper and fill full with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove weights and lining. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until set. Allow to cool completely.
In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in 1 cup of milk, mix until smooth, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
Beat the egg yolks with the remaining cup of milk. Temper the egg mixture with a small amount of the slightly cooled milk mixture then blend this into the larger saucepan with the cooling milk mixture.
Return saucepan to the heat and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly, lower heat and simmer until mixture is the consistency of thick pudding, about 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and quickly stir in butter and vanilla. Transfer half of the filling mixture to a small bowl and set aside. Add chocolate chips to remaining filling and stir until melted and smooth.
Allow fillings to cool for 5 minutes, then pour plain filling into cooled pie shell. Arrange a single layer of banana slices on top of the filling. Pour chocolate filling on top. Refrigerate until completely cooled.
Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks. Gently spread whipped cream on top of cooled filling, smoothing top into a slight dome. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.
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Don’t Miss a Meal!
I am so wanting this instead of the egg white omelette I am about to fix. This will be on my list of “treats” to have after this whole diet mess is over! Your pie looks scrumptious!!
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I just had to wipe drool off my monitor. This looks incredible!
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I haven’t seen anything as lovely as this that has gotten my motor running. Thanks for the inspiration!
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Lindsay! What. A. Pie. Throw some peanut butter in there and my fiancée would have a biblical moment with this.
Cheers,
*Heather*
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This looks heavenly! Can’t wait to make it!
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DROOOL! This looks amazing, Lindsay!
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Oh goodness – that looks incredible! I often find myself debating between banana and chocolate but it never occurred to me to put the two together.
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it’s a beautiful pie!
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Gorgeous pics! Great recipe!
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Mmmm. Perfect to look at while I am eating my plain ol’ salad for lunch.
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OMG this looks sooooooooo yumyy
XOXO,
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One word: SWOON.
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Your beautiful pictures almost make me want to try this! I just wish I liked bananas!
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This looks devine! I want to make one!
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oh boy holy indulgence is right! that looks so amazing – and i’ve never even had banana cream pie before! (blasphemous, I know)
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Buah! terriblemente espectacular!
Mglòria de Gourmenderies
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I love this post. I can really feel your joy. And the picture… magnifique!
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Wow! What a picture, this looks decadent! This is one of my favorite desserts, can’t wait to try out the recipe!
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Sometimes making a compromise works really well for we the indecisive. This pie, for instance, gives you the best of both worlds.
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Ooooh, this looks delicious! I can’t wait to have occasion to try it out. :D
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Beautiful, beautiful pie! Chocolate and banana were meant to be – did you ever eat those Fudge Bomb ice cream pops wrapped in the nuclear orange wrappers as a kid? Those were my main source of dairy during the summers :)
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Beautiful, beautiful pictures.
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This pie is absolutely beautiful. Wow. It reminds me of the dessert I had at Emeril’s once.
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This pie is to die for!
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I know you’re not supposed to leave cliche words like “wow” “yummy looking” etc. but I took one look at the top photo and went ‘wow’! I love both bananas and chocolate together, and with the chocolate crust…well…I just think it’s yummy looking! I need to try to make this soon.
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This photo is gorgeous! It looks absolutely delicious!
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Oh. My. GOSH. Does anything better exist? I’m thinking probably not. Chocolate + Banana + Cream + Pie = HEAVEN.
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I made this last night for a dinner party and it was absolutely fabulous!! Every person loved it! I will make it again and again and again!
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I absolutely ADORE those chocolate curls. They literally look like they’re going to jump out of the photo. Beautiful photography and beautiful pie!
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Yes! Holy indulgence<3
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Gorgeous pie! I can’t resist the banana and chocolate combination…well done!
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Wonderful banana pie !!!
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yum! chocolate and bananas are the perfect combination!
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I definitely need this pie! Looks just utterly gorgeous.
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This seems like my kind of thinking. I too am extremely in decisive so this is a great resolution. That is a beautifully photogenic pi and it looks amazing!
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Looks like the two of us are on the same page! I made banana cream pie this weekend but took ages to try to decide what to make… Love the chocolate in yours!
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I’m incredibly indecisive, too! It’s midnight, and I’ve been pondering all week what to bring to a potluck this Saturday. I thought of banana chocolate cream pie, and am thrilled to have found this post on foodblogsearch.com. It’s beautiful – thanks!
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I made this yesterday and it came out wonderful. The only thing I changed was the crust because I find graham cracker crust to be so delicious and I’m honestly still a little bit afraid of making a real pie crust. My friends absolutely loved it and I will be making this again!
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