This week there's no formal guest reviewer, but as always Perry is happy to stand in as the unofficial taster! Knowing his love for bananas, I decided to try a recipe entitled Butter Brickle Banana Cream Pie from Pie, Pie, Pie: Easy Homemade Favorites by John Phillip Carroll. I don't love banana pie, but the brickle makes me keep coming back for more!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Butter Brickle Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients:
1 baked pie crust (9-inch)
butter brickle:
1/2 c. sugar
5 T. butter
1/2 c. sliced or slivered almonds
filling:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
2 1/4 c. milk
3 egg yolks
3 T. butter
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large, ripe bananas
whipped cream:
1 c. heavy (whipping) cream, chilled
4 t. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Pie Algorithm:
1. (Brickle) Line a shallow baking pan with foil. Combine the sugar, butter, and almonds in a large skillet. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the bubbling mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour into pan and cool completely; it will harden as it cools. Break the butter brickle into pieces and chop coarsely in a food processor. Set aside.
2. (Filling) In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Pour in the milk and whisk until smooth. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking almost constantly, until the mixture boils. Cook, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes, then whisk in the egg yolks. Bring the mixture back to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times.
3. (Topping) Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl large enough for whipping, and beat until you have nearly stiff peaks.
4. (Assembly) Spread about 1/2 c. of brickle in baked pie shell. Peel bananas and slice them about 1/4 inch thick, placing the slices over the brickle as you work. Cover the bananas with the filling and cool to room temperature. Sprinkle the filling with another 1/2 c. of the butter brickle. Spread whipped cream over pie and sprinkle with remaining brickle.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. For best results, eat within a couple of hours. If you must wait longer, the brickle will gradually soften, but will not lose its flavor.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
After his first slice was complete, Perry's first words were "It's not quite like my mom's." He went on to say that the pudding filling was different from what he remembered as a kid, but had a hard time figuring out why because he kept getting distracted with the crunchy, salty, nutty brickle. While it may not be quite like my mother-in-law Kathy's pudding, I was quite pleased that it turned out! I had tried to make homemade pudding pie several times in the past, each time without success. This time there was no scorching, no chunks, and it tasted very similar to what I anticipated!
The recipe listed above has not been altered at all; for once I'm pretty satisfied with the results. If I were to make the pie again, I would perhaps use Kathy's pudding recipe or Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream's Almond Brittle recipe. In all reality though, Kathy's recipe is similar to that above and the brickle recipe above is almost too easy not to use. Perhaps I would simply omit the banana's on my half of the pie!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Butter Brickle Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients:
1 baked pie crust (9-inch)
butter brickle:
1/2 c. sugar
5 T. butter
1/2 c. sliced or slivered almonds
filling:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
2 1/4 c. milk
3 egg yolks
3 T. butter
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large, ripe bananas
whipped cream:
1 c. heavy (whipping) cream, chilled
4 t. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Pie Algorithm:
1. (Brickle) Line a shallow baking pan with foil. Combine the sugar, butter, and almonds in a large skillet. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the bubbling mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour into pan and cool completely; it will harden as it cools. Break the butter brickle into pieces and chop coarsely in a food processor. Set aside.
2. (Filling) In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Pour in the milk and whisk until smooth. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking almost constantly, until the mixture boils. Cook, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes, then whisk in the egg yolks. Bring the mixture back to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times.
3. (Topping) Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl large enough for whipping, and beat until you have nearly stiff peaks.
4. (Assembly) Spread about 1/2 c. of brickle in baked pie shell. Peel bananas and slice them about 1/4 inch thick, placing the slices over the brickle as you work. Cover the bananas with the filling and cool to room temperature. Sprinkle the filling with another 1/2 c. of the butter brickle. Spread whipped cream over pie and sprinkle with remaining brickle.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. For best results, eat within a couple of hours. If you must wait longer, the brickle will gradually soften, but will not lose its flavor.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
After his first slice was complete, Perry's first words were "It's not quite like my mom's." He went on to say that the pudding filling was different from what he remembered as a kid, but had a hard time figuring out why because he kept getting distracted with the crunchy, salty, nutty brickle. While it may not be quite like my mother-in-law Kathy's pudding, I was quite pleased that it turned out! I had tried to make homemade pudding pie several times in the past, each time without success. This time there was no scorching, no chunks, and it tasted very similar to what I anticipated!
The recipe listed above has not been altered at all; for once I'm pretty satisfied with the results. If I were to make the pie again, I would perhaps use Kathy's pudding recipe or Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream's Almond Brittle recipe. In all reality though, Kathy's recipe is similar to that above and the brickle recipe above is almost too easy not to use. Perhaps I would simply omit the banana's on my half of the pie!
No comments:
Post a Comment