BAKE IT TO THE LIMIT
BANOFFEE CUSTARD PIE
“There is banoffee pie as it is – an overtly sweet and slippery union of banana and caramel. And then there is banoffee pie as it should be – where the caramel infuses a baked custard filling and is then topped with bananas. This kind of pie makes you feel like everything is going to be okay in the world.”
Makes one 24 cm pie to serve 8 to 12 A LITTLE EFFORT
GREAT VALUE
Keeps: Up to 2 days, chilled
Takes: If the crust has been blind baked, then 50 minutes to make and bake. Chill for a minimum of 2 hours before finishing – overnight is great.
sweet butter crust 1 batch (see p 102), rolled into a 24 cm tart tin and blind baked to golden brown
free-range egg white 1, lightly beaten, for brushing pastry (use the yolk for the filling)
For the filling:
cream 2 cups
vanilla paste 1 t caster sugar 150 g
water 2 T
sea salt flakes ¼ t
free-range egg yolks 4
For the topping:
small, ripe and fragrant bananas 3
granadilla 1, pulped (or 2 t orange juice)
cream ¾ cup
vanilla paste ½ t
crème fraîche 100 g
chocolate rubble ½ x batch (milk chocolate, see page 104)
Preheat the oven to 120°C. Place the blind-baked crust, still in the tin, on a heavy baking tray. Soften a little leftover dough by massaging it in your hands and use it to patch any large fissures or breaks where the liquid filling is likely to escape. Don’t press the dough too hard or you risk making a bigger crack. To make the filling, scald the cream and vanilla in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat. For “scalding”, what you are looking for is over half the surface of the cream to be eagerly bubbly. Remove from the heat and set aside. We want to use the cream while it’s hot so it will merge better with the hot caramel, so don’t delay the next step. In a separate small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a fast boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Continue boiling, without stirring, until the caramel is medium brown. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the caramel to continue cooking from the pan’s heat. You, being the captain of your caramel ship, can decide how deep you want that flavour to be. I play brinkmanship Sometimes a few straggly bits of caramel stick to the whisk. I don’t worry about this. But if your cream has cooled too much and your whisk can feel (or show) big clumps of caramel, then put the caramel cream back on the heat to melt. Put the egg yolks into a heatproof bowl. Pour half the hot caramel cream into the yolks and whisk well before pouring in the remainder. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug. Now, let’s get the blind-baked crust ready. Brush the egg white to lightly coat the inside of the crust. Put in the oven for 5 minutes for the egg white to dry slightly and seal well. Don’t overheat at this stage as the egg white can cause the pastry to crack. Then, preferably while it’s still in the oven (it helps if there’s not a rack above your crust), carefully pour the caramel custard filling into the crust. The custard level will be slightly scant, as you need to leave room for the bananas and cream. To prevent the custard filling leaking out and baking between the tin and the pastry, don’t overfill and don’t let the custard slosh down between the crust and the tin while filling. If the crust is slightly uneven in height, fill only to the top of the lowest side. Bake for 25–30 minutes until the custard has a firm eggy wobble and a fine blistering across the top. We want the custard to be reasonably firm, to hold the topping. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. To make the topping, cut the bananas in half lengthways, then chop into small semi-circles and put in a bowl. Scrape the granadilla into the bowl and lightly mix to coat the banana. The acidity from the granadilla (or orange juice) will prevent the banana from discolouring. Lemon juice is a little jarring against the caramel custard. Whip the cream and vanilla to medium peaks, then lightly whisk in the crème fraîche. This will soften the cream slightly to soft, cloudlike peaks. Leaving the pie in the tin, strew the bananas across the surface of the custard and lightly press in. Pile the cream onto the middle and smooth it over to the edge of the tin with an offset spatula or long knife. Scatter over the chocolate rubble. Return to the fridge to chill, then remove from the tin and serve. Omit the banana if you like. Then it becomes a toffee custard cream pie and is just as delicious. If the crust is burnt or breaks, you can bake the filling in little ceramic pots in the oven in a water bath. Divide the mix between six dariole moulds or coffee cups and tightly cover with foil. Chill completely and decorate with the banana, cream and chocolate. You just invented banoffee pots de crème.
