Mini Banana Cream Pies

 It was -22°C today in Toronto, -30°C with the wind chill.  That sort of temperature does not inspire me to want to go outside.  Ever.  Instead I stayed in and thought about all the warm and tropical places I would rather be. And after I accepted the reality that I’m stuck here for at least 2 more months of winter I decided to spend the day baking.  However, deciding what to bake is never an easy task.  As usual, I spent an absurd amount of time scanning recipes and trying to find something that I felt like making and for which I also had all the ingredients, because as previously discussed, there was no way I was going outside.

Then I saw some bananas sitting on the counter and narrowed my search to banana recipes.  I should really have more banana recipes in my repertoire and should make them more often because The Boy likes “anything with banana”.  I mentioned my boyfriend in my last post, (and how he’s not impressed with my oversized male roommate…) but despite the only recent mention, he’s not new and he’s actually existed on my blog for quite some time, albeit in various disguises.  If you’ve been around Jumbo Empanadas since the early days, you may also know The Boy as a certain Ukrainian Princess who refused to eat pierogies… 

Other than that though, he’s a pretty good eater, likes sweets and will generally try anything I put in front of him, (pierogies being the obvious exception).  As I said, he especially likes anything with banana.  He also likes pudding.  Given those two facts, it seems like banana cream pie should be one of his favourite desserts.  While looking at recipes with bananas, I sent him a quick message asking his opinion of said pie, as I thought it odd he had never requested it.  Turns out he’s never had banana cream pie.  How is that possible?

I shouldn’t be surprised though, this sort of situation happens quite often.  I ask him what he thinks of something, he replies he’s never had it and I then add it to the “list of things to make The Boy”.  Unfortunately, despite the fact that I evidently ending up making banana cream pies, they’re still on The Boy’s list.  He lives in another city and didn’t get to try any of these.  But I figure if I keep making banana desserts like this he’ll have to come visit me more often…

 Banana Cream Pie (from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours)

2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar, pressed through a sieve
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits
3 ripe but firm bananas, sliced

To make the custard, bring the milk to a boil.  In a separate saucepan, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until blended and thick.  Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about ¼ of the hot milk.  Continue to whisk while slowly pouring in the remainder of the milk.  Bring the mixture to a boil while whisking and continue to whisk for 2 minutes at a boil.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.  Let cool 5 minutes before whisking in the bits of butter until fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.  Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.  Remove from the fridge and whisk again before scooping into tart shells, alternating with a layer of sliced banana until you reach the top of the shell.

***I used Dorie’s recipe for the custard only.  For the tart shells I used a 3-2-1 pie dough, fully baked and cooled.  I topped the mini pies with lightly sweetened whipped cream and a banana slice with caramelized cinnamon sugar on top.  There are chocolate curls beside the tarts in the photos, but afterwards I added those on top too.