Let’s Go Bananas!
Chocolate Banana Cream Pie, chocolate & banana lovers unite! It’s unforgivable at my house to not love this combination. I was at a camp when I was much younger and we made banana boats. This was the first time (gulp) that I had bananas and chocolate together. We sliced the banana vertically, filled it up with chocolate chips, a bunch of marshmallows, and warmed up in coals of a campfire. Yummmeeee! There are no marshmallows in today’s pie, (try S’mores Campfire Pie), but the mallow is not missed. Chocolate Banana Cream pie is loaded with bananas and decadent banana-chocolate pastry cream, finished off with homemade whipped cream.
As you build the pie, each banana slice is “sealed” with the banana cream filling, which keeps the bananas from oxidizing. There is nothing worse than slicing into a banana cream pie and finding a “brown” banana. (I don’t care that it will look the same in my stomach, I just can’t eat a brown gooey banana…maybe in the zombie apocalypse, but probably not.)
Add about 1/2 cup of the banana pastry cream, a layer of bananas gently pressed in, and then covered by another layer of pastry cream.
Add another layer of bananas and finish off with the chocolate banana pastry cream layer (see instructions in recipe below).
The banana chocolate cream layer is just a tad harder to spread over the last layer of bananas. So, start by spreading the chocolate cream from the outside in so as not to push/squish out any bananas.
Click here for instructions for making your own Sandwich Cookie Chocolate Crust. You will thank yourself later; it’s pretty darn easy and very, very tasty.
Alrighty then, time to “Go Bananas” for the chocolate banana lovers in your family. Don’t forget to save the last slice for yourself!
Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup half & half
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 cup pure cane sugar
- 6 drops banana oil (or 1/2 teaspoon banana extract)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (clearjel or Tapioca starch)
- 2 large egg yolks (beaten and strained)
- 1 large egg (beaten and strained)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 to 3 large bananas
- 1 9-inch prepared chocolate cookie crust
Whipped Cream
- 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup pure cane powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Measure out the chocolate chips in a medium size bowl and have ready for part of the hot filling to be added in a couple of steps below.
- In a large saucepan, stir the sugar and cornstarch together, which will help eliminate lumps.
- Whisk in the heavy cream, half & half, milk, banana oil and beaten strained eggs.
- Over medium heat, bring to gentle simmer while whisking, making sure to get bottom and sides of pan while whisking.
- Continue simmer while whisking constantly until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Measure out 1-1/2 cups of hot filling and pour over chocolate chips.
- Immediately pour the remaining filling into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap pushed onto surface to prevent a skin from forming, place in refrigerator for a few hours to cool (about 3- 4 hours or overnight).
- Now stir the chocolate chips with the filling until chocolate is fully melted, and add plastic wrap pressed onto surface, place into bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool as above.
Assembly & Whipped Topping
- In an electric mixer (I like KitchenAid) add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream and whip at high speed until stiff peaks form, set aside for piping onto pie.
- In the prepared chocolate cookie crust, spread about 1/2 cup cooled custard over bottom of crust. Arrange banana slices in over custard, pressing a little down into custard. Repeat with custard and bananas, making the bananas the last layer.
- Spread the chocolate banana custard over the pie. Spread whipped cream over the entire top and pipe with the whipped cream around edges. Store in refrigerator.
You rock!!!!