Peanut Butter and Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Abigale Belcrest, single-crust pie, sweet piesFebruary 2, 2014No comments

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Chocolate. Peanut butter. Banana cream. Love. What else do you need?! Nothing! This was one of my favorite pies, and, according to the meager bit I had left at the end of the banquet, an overwhelming success. Best of all, it was super easy to make. You can follow any recipe for homemade graham cracker crust. The graham cracker crust has definitely become my new go-to. Graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and a tad bit of baking and you’re all set! No worries about the crust woes that befall your typical pastry. The one thing I would recommend is buttering your pan thoroughly before pre baking/pressing in your crust. I had many crusts of the graham cracker variety, and too often they stuck to the pan, and I couldn’t get enough!

Anyway, after my crust was prepared and chilling, I  started with the peanut butter pudding:

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It was phenomenal. I had never had homemade peanut butter pudding (I’m accustomed to the Jell-O variety), and it was terrific! I had no idea puddings were so simple; corn starch, sugar (of course), and some heavy whipping cream/whole milk, and I was all set! I figured I’d follow the same strategy for the chocolate pudding and I got ahead of myself…turns out chocolate pudding only calls for 2 tbsp of cornstarch, as opposed to the 5 tbsp in the peanut butter pudding…whoops! I could definitely tell that it was a little less liquid than typical pudding, but it still tasted great! I filled a layer of banana in over the peanut butter and then covered that with a layer of chocolate pudding. Then, I put my leftovers in a mason jar to give some friends a taste-test before the big next day.

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After the puddings were in the crust, it was time to chill them both. I wrapped up my little treat, and popped it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I came in about an hour early to prepare our space and whip up some homemade whipped cream…After making my own, I have to say, it will be pretty darn hard to go back to the store-bought stuff.

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It was wonderfully light and sweet. To finish, I sliced up one more banana to complete the presentation. As I’ve said, it was super sweet and delicious, and not too heavy! In retrospect, I think I’d like a little more banana cream, rather than the chocolate/peanut butter/whipped cream with bananas thrown in. Nikki also made a coconut whipped cream that was spectacular, and would be great with the flavors in this pie.

And so comes the end of my month of pies. It was quite the journey in our industrial kitchen–Lord knows I learned how to manage a 10-lb skillet. Let’s see, what else have I learned…not to be such a wimp in the face of pastry adversity, how to not connect a pastry braid to a bottom crust, you can never chill your dough enough…Yep, I’ve definitely learned some life lessons…how could I not while watching Sweeney Todd and Pushing Daisies? But honestly, I had such a lovely month with great new friends making great food. It’s going to be hard to compare this course to my other classes come spring semester!

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

  • Prep time:
  • Cook time:
  • Total time:
  • Yield: 10
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Recipe type: dessert

Ingredients:

  • 2 to 3 bananas, sliced
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 5 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3/4 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup creamy (smooth) peanut butter (I used Jif because that is what I had, but the original recipe calls for NATURAL peanut butter.)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:

  1. Peanut butter pudding:
  2. 1. Whisk first 3 ingredients in large saucepan to blend.
  3. 2. Gradually whisk in milk, then cream.
  4. 3. Whisk over medium heat until mixture comes to boil. Then boil until thick, whisking constantly, about 30 seconds.
  5. 4. Whisk in peanut butter; boil until thick again, whisking often, about 1 minute longer.
  6. 5. Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla. Fill crust with about 1/2 inch base layer of pudding. Chill uncovered while preparing chocolate pudding.
  8. Chocolate pudding:
  9. 1. Whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and pinch of salt in heavy large saucepan.
  10. 2. Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups whole milk, then 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream. Whisk over medium heat until mixture comes to boil.
  11. 3. Boil until thick, whisking constantly, about 30 seconds.
  12. 4. Add chopped chocolate. Boil until chocolate melts and pudding is thick again, whisking often, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
  13. 5. Remove from heat; whisk in 1tsp vanilla. Cool pudding 5 minutes.
  14. 6. Arrange banana slices in a single layer over the peanut butter pudding layer.
  15. 7. Spoon chocolate pudding over bananas and peanut butter pudding
  16. 8. Chill pie uncovered until cold, at least 2 hours. (May be made up to 1 day ahead.)
  18. For the topping:
  19. 1. Whip together 1 c heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar.
  20. 2. Spread evenly over pudding layers.
  21. 3. Garnish with banana slices.

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