Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

I found this fantastic recipe online but never book-marked it. I printed it out instead.  I wish I could find out who to give credit for this one. It's an awesome recipe. My only addition was a pre-made crust, to save some time and I also added a scant 1/4 Cup of toffee chips to the vanilla portion. It was Super sweet but tasty.

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

INGREDIENTS: For Filling:

For Pie Crust: 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup plain all purpose flour 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water 2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt 3 egg yolks  
                                                                1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 medium bananas, sliced Chocolate curls, for garnish (optional)

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare pie crust according to the technique outlined here, adding in cocoa powder and sugar. Roll out and gently press into a 9" pie pan. Place pan and crust in the freezer for at least 10 minutes prior to baking (or while your oven is preheating).  Line crust with foil or parchment paper and fill full with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove weights and lining. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until set. Allow to cool completely.

In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in 1 cup of milk, mix until smooth, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat.  Beat the egg yolks with the remaining cup of milk. Temper the egg mixture with a small amount of the slightly cooled milk mixture then blend this into the larger saucepan with the cooling milk mixture.  Return saucepan to the heat and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly, lower heat and simmer until mixture is the consistency of thick pudding, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and quickly stir in butter and vanilla. Transfer half of the filling mixture to a small bowl and set aside. Add chocolate chips to remaining filling and stir until melted and smooth.  Allow fillings to cool for 5 minutes, then pour plain filling into cooled pie shell. Arrange a single layer of banana slices on top of the filling. Pour chocolate filling on top. Refrigerate until completely cooled.  Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks. Gently spread whipped cream on top of cooled filling, smoothing top into a slight dome. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.