Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 prepared pie pastry, single crust (for deep dish pie pie)
• 1 plump vanilla bean, slit lengthwise
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 ounces imported chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 4 medium ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons banana liqueur
• 1 1/2 tablespoons creme de cacao
• cocoa powder

Recipe

• 1 fit pie pastry into a 9 ½ inch deep dish pie pan; sculpt edge into an upstanding ridge; place in the freezer for 15 minutes, then fully prebake and let cool.
• 2 in a nonstick saucepan, combine the vanilla bean and milk; place over medium heat and bring to a near boil; immediately remove form the heat and set aside.
• 3 whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a big bowl until pale thick, about 2 minutes.
• 4 whisk in the cornstarch.
• 5 remove the vanilla bean from the hot milk, saving it for another use, and whisk the milk into the cornstarch mixture.
• 6 pour the mixture back into the saucepan; place over medium heat and cook, whisking nonstop, until it comes to a boil, 5-7 minutes.
• 7 continue to boil, whisking nonstop, for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
• 8 whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, and the chocolate, adding it in several stages.
• 9 scrape the filling back into the bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap on top, leaving no gaps or air pockets, to prevent a skin from forming.
• 10 transfer the pie filling to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly; refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• 11 shortly before serving, using a chilled medium-size bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream with an electric mixer until it is stiff but not grainy; refrigerate.
• 12 slice the bananas into a bowl; sprinkle with the lemon juice.
• 13 fold the bananas, banana liqueur, and creme de cacao into the cold filling.
• 14 fold in the whipped cream; spoon the filling into the cooked pie shell, then garnish with a dusting of cocoa.
• 15 serve at once or refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving.
• 16 **recommended to serve the same day it is made.