Banana Caramel Cream Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream

This pie is delicious! While, I'm completely biased that you ought to try this ENTIRE recipe, there are a few cheats to get similar flavors more easily: 1. Store bought crust
2. Instant banana pudding
3. Store bought whipped cream
While these tricks will help you save time, they will not compare to the true recipe! Either way, you won't be disappointed!
Ingredients:

• Easy as Pie Crust: Pate Sucree (sweet dough), COOKED AND COOLED - See the Easy As Pie CRUST recipe under the Food label on this blog. The Pate Sucree variation is at the bottom of the post.
• Salted Caramel Sauce - See the Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce recipe under the Food  label on this blog. 

Custard Pie Filling:

• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/3 tsp Salt
• 2 tbl Cornstarch
• 1 tbl Flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbl butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Bananas  

Whipped Cream Topping:

• 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 tbl powdered sugar (or regular sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions for Custard Filling:


Begin by preparing. In a large bowl, fill it 1/2 way with ice. Take a smaller bowl and put in inside this one. Top this contraption with a strainer and stick the three dishes in the freezer.

In a larger pot, mix together sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Over medium-low heat, slowly whisk in the milk. Stirring this occasionally until it begins to boil.
Helpful Tip: The recipe calls for a "heavy-bottomed bowl" which I don't have, so I just set the pot over a cast-iron pan so the heat was evenly distributed.
 

In a small bowl, mix the two egg yolks.
Once the custard begins to boil, take 1/2 a cup of the custard and slowly add to the yolks - Be sure to whisk while adding the warm mixture. Then pour the eggs into the large pot while whisking.

This technique is called tempering. The purpose is to warm the temperature of the eggs before adding them to the mixture so the eggs don't scramble and cook. This step is crucial!



Pour this mixture, once the eggs have been added, through your freezer-contraption. Using a rubber spatula to help push the custard through the strainer will help expedite this process. Dice one banana and stir into the custard.
Allow this mixture to cool down. 

Meanwhile, slice one banana and fill a layer in the bottom of the pie crust. This will prevent a soggy crust later! Drizzle the salted caramel sauce over the bananas. 

Add the cooled custard to the pie dish and top with remaining banana, sliced. 
Add another drizzle of caramel and put in fridge to allow the custard to set, about to hours (but honestly we waited like 30 minutes!). Top with whipped cream and enjoy a taste of heaven! We even drizzle MORE caramel on top!

Directions for Whipped Cream: 

Place a large glass bowl and your whisk (or attachments for you egg beater) in the freezer and wait until extremely cold! 


Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract to your VERY cold bowl. Whisk or mix until you have stiff peaks.
This just means that when you pull the whisks out, the whipped cream on the end doesn't droop and fall down. They should remain straight out (or stiff).


For this and other great recipes:
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/banana-caramel-cream-pie-recipe/index.html

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