Banoffee Pie in a Sour Cream Pastry Crust with Espresso Whipped Cream

 



































I'm not sure what mountain of buttercream I've been hiding under for the majority of my life, but how I've never come to make Banoffee Pie before is just ludicrous.

Ok, America...you too. Let's be honest. I didn't even know about Banoffee until I moved to Dubai...it's almost a bit embarrassing to admit really. Ok to be fair, it is a traditional classic British pie, so it's not our fault. But how-oh-how is this not part of our Thanksgiving lineup, snug and chummy next to the Apple and Pumpkin? Because get ready for this...Banoffee is better than BOTH! AND it's cheaper, the filling only has three ingredients! One of which is sweetened condensed milk, so you know it has to be good.

Never mind...we learn and move on.  Banoffee...it's simple.  Banana + Toffee.  I know, right?  I didn't know what it meant at first either.  Kind of looks like a typo when you first read it.

So let's talk about this sour cream crust.  Hello new BFF.  Is that abbreviation over with yet?  What can I substitute for it?  It's just easy and sums up so much.  Anyway, this crust is soooooo forgiving.  It almost rolls itself AND jumps in your pie plate, you will love it.  I found the recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe, lovingly goes into detail about every step.  I suggest you go over to her page and read all about the crust.  No food processor required.  Yay, one less thing to dig out/wash/put away.


Banoffee Pie in a Sour Cream Pastry Crust with Espresso Whipped Cream
makes one single 9-inch pie crust
printable version

Ingredients

For the Crust:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

10 tablespoons butter, frozen

1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, plus an additional tablespoon or two if needed

 

For the Filling:

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk

 

For the Espresso Whipped Cream:

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder (not instant coffee granules)

 

Directions

Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.
 

 

Using a large cheese grater, grate the butter into the dry ingredients.  I wrapped a piece of plastic wrap around the bottom of the cold butter to help it from slipping out of my hand (take care not to grate it like I did...)

 

Use a fork to lightly coat the butter with the dry ingredients.  Don't mush the butter down, you want to keep lots of chunky pieces to help to create a flaky crust.

 

Add the sour cream and use fork to incorporate into the butter and flour mixture.  Don't over mix, otherwise the dough will become too tough. 

 

The dough will be slightly shaggy (as Mel perfectly describes it).  At this point, it's best to work it together with your hands.  But don't over-do it.  Just shape it into a cohesive ball.  Kneading too much will result in a tough dough.

 

If you find your dough is too dry, add one small spoonful of sour cream at a time until it comes together (pressing down with the fork after each addition...I had to add about two extra spoonfuls)

 

If baking immediately, the dough is ready to be rolled out (no extra refrigeration time required, I know it's awesome).  If you'll be baking it later on, shape the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-2 days.

 

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, making sure to also dust your rolling pin.  Start from the center and roll outward, rotating the dough a quarter-turn after a few rolls with the pin.  Work the dough as little as possible to ensure a flaky crust.

 

I usually place my pie plate over my rolled dough to ensure large enough for my plate; also check to see if there is enough dough around the perimeter to fit up the sides of the plate.

 

Carefully roll the dough onto the rolling pin (dust with flour before hand) and un-roll onto the pie plate. 

 

Using kitchen shears, trim the excess dough around the perimeter of the pie, leaving about 1/4 inch.

 

Fold the cut overhang underneath and crimp the sides of the dough all around the pie.

 

Cover pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Remove pie from fridge and cover with baking paper.  Fill with dried beans or pie weights.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and carefully remove the weights or beans and discard paper.  Place back in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden.

 

Let crust cool completely on wire rack before filling.

 

 

To prepare the filling, combine the butter, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan.  Over low heat, bring mixture to a slow simmer, but do not boil.  Cook for 10-12 minutes or until mixture thickens.

 

 

Immediately pour the thickened filling into the cooled pie crust.  Smooth evenly with a spatula.  Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours, or until ready to serve.

 

Once ready to serve, slice bananas and place in a large bowl.  Add the lemon juice and gently stir to coat the bananas. 

 

 

Arrange the sliced bananas in two over-lapping circles around the pie.  I like to leave a gap between the crust and the bananas so the filling shows nicely.

 

 

To prepare the whipped cream, beat the heavy cream on high speed until soft peaks form.  Add the sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder and beat again on high until the mixture becomes thick.

 

 

Add a large mound of the whipped in the center of the pie on top of the bananas (but not covering them completely!) dust with cocoa powder and serve immediately.

 

crust recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

 

pie filling courtesy of Taste

 

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache Tart in a Chewy Oat (HobNobs) Crust

My oven died this week.  Like total shut-down.  It's something electrical in the wiring, nothing to do with the oven so you know that will take FOREVER to fix, especially here in Dubai.  I called the husband in a state of panic, you know one of those phone calls where as soon as you hear them pick up on the other line you say (without even waiting for them to say hello) 'you-must-come-home-the-oven-is-broken-no-wait-maybe-it's-just-better-if-we-move!!!'  I got a prompt 'we'll get it fixed over the weekend, goodbye' answer.  Ok probably deserved that, but the only way I could get my husband to understand the magnitude of this situation so he'll can call the fix-it guy (who doesn't understand my white-girl English, apparently I talk way over his speed limit) and get my 'office' up and running again is to put it into man-terms. 

Me: 'Honey, would you be able to breathe without your blackberry for even an hour?' 

Husband: Impatiently looks at me with the phone already stuck in his ear

Me: 'Because you see the oven is my equivalent to your blackberry.  I cannot function or think properly when it's busted.'

Husband: 'Hello, Jaber? (on the phone calling Mr Fix-It aka Jaber)  This is Jad, can you please come over tomorrow and take a look at our oven?'

Man-terms, ladies.

So rather than waiting for Jaber to come God knows when, the show must go on.  So here you go, a 'no-bake' tart that is spectacular, no heat required. 

There are loads of contrasting textures going on here, which always makes for a happy pallet.  The crust is soft and chewy, just like an oatmeal cookie.  The peanut butter filling is sweet and creamy, however don't let the photo deceive you, it firms up and cuts quite nicely once left in the fridge over night.  A sprinkling of the salty peanuts on top of the lightly-sweetened whipped cream adds a welcoming crunch amongst all the heavenly pillows of flavor.  A winner for any picky pallet.  Heck, I bet Jaber would even appreciate it...assuming he ever shows up.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache Tart in a Chewy Oat (HobNobs) Crust
makes a 9" round tart or a 13 3/4-by-4 1/4-inch tart
printable version

Ingredients

For the Crust:
6 1/2 ounces HobNob biscuits (or 12 whole graham crackers), finely ground, about 1 1/2 cups

2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

For the Filling:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 ounces good-quality milk chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup  (4 ounces) cream cheese

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons sugar

 

salted peanuts, chopped, for garnish

 

Directions

 

Place biscuits (or graham crackers), sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until fine crumbs are formed. 

 

 

Transfer to a medium bowl, and add melted butter. Stir with a fork until thoroughly combined.

 



Place crumbs in a 13 3/4-by-4 1/4-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom (I only had a 9-inch round which also worked fine).

Press crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place in the refrigerator while making the filling.

 

 

Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Finely chop chocolate, and place in a medium bowl. Place 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate, and set aside for 5 minutes to yield chocolate ganache.

 

 

Whisk to combine.

 

 

Set in ice bath until ganache is cool, whisking constantly.  Once cool, remove from ice bath, and whisk until ganache is just thick enough to hold its shape; do not over beat. Spread in the bottom of the prepared crust, and return to the refrigerator until set.

 

Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

 

 

Whip 3/4 cup heavy cream to soft peaks.  Add whipped cream to peanut butter mixture; whisk to combine.

 

 

Spoon mixture into prepared crust; return to the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. Remove tart from refrigerator, and transfer to a serving platter 10 minutes before serving. Whip remaining 1/2 cup cream.  Add the vanilla and sugar, whip to combine. 

 

 

Top tart with dollops of whipped cream and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Crust recipe and Filling Recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Bailey's & Chocolate Cream Pie

Really this post was supposed to be about the Red, White, and Blue Zebra cake I made...but it had some 'blending' issues.  I was so hopeful this cake was going to turn out spectacular but something (ok, me) went wrong. 

If you're into Pinterest you may have seen lots of Zebra cakes floating around lately.  Basically a zebra cake is white and chocolate cake batter layered on top of each other in small amounts (about 1/4 cup per layer) like so:

Once it bakes the layers of batter take on a zebra like pattern

You know if I were friends with Snooki and was throwing her baby shower I would SO bake her a zebra cake...

Sorry Jersey Shore is the ultimate distraction.  Anyway, I though well what if I swirl red, white, and blue batter instead of the white and chocolate, assuming it would have the same effect.  Nope...not even a little bit.  I got a turquoise, purple, and spots o' red cake.  The colors they went a runnin'.  I wanted to call it a 'Firecracker' cake but I'd only be kidding myself.

Feeling pretty disappointed with myself and the Mardi Gras cake I figured the best thing to do to lift my spirits would be to bake something with booze.  Because doesn't everyone enjoy eating boozy treats for breakfast?  I found a vanilla rum cream pie recipe that sounded perfect, but yeh the boozers in the house drank all the Captain Morgan.  Shafted again!  Before declaring defeat for the week I figured let's try a chocolate and Bailey's cream pie because those are two ingredients for sure you can find in our house.

I've always been a bit hesitant to make cream pies out of fear of scrambling the egg yolks.  I've done this in the past with other recipes and it just gets nasty.  Ick.  Scrmbled eggs are only for breakfast and only with toast...not with a side of pie.

But since this blog is all about experimentation I figured let's go for it.  I already f'ed up the cake, if I end up with a scrambled egg pie I'd just finish off the Bailey's and call it a day.

But no the pie was amazing.  The chocolate cream is thick and rich, but still velvety smooth.  The mountain of whipped cream is light and sweet against the buttery, crispy crust.  Yep all your textures are covered.

Lastly, let me give you the secret to perfect cream pies.  Whisk.  Whisk.  Whisk.  And once your arm starts to cramp, keep whisking.  If you end up with a numb arm you're guaranteed a perfect pie.  You should also strain the mixture through a fine sieve before pouring into the pie shell.  This step guarantees a silky, smooth finish in case any little bits of egg did cook and want to 'lump' around in your pie.  Naughty eggs. 

Happy 4th of July!

Bailey's & Chocolate Cream Pie
makes one 9" pie
printable version

Ingredients
For the crust: (This makes 2 tart shells.  You can freeze the other dough and use at a later time)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1/3 cup ice water

For the pie filing:
3 egg yolks, beaten

1 1/2 cups white sugar

4 heaping tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder (not instant coffee)

1 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup Bailey's

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the whipped cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

To prepare the crust, add flour, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse to combine.  Add chilled butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 8-10 seconds.  The mixture should NOT come into a ball at this point.  It should still be loose and crumbly.

With the food processor running, slowly add the cold water (be sure to remove the ice first!) down the feed tube.  Continue running the processor until the dough starts to slowly come together.  It shouldn't be wet or sticky at this point.  Do not pulse longer than 30 seconds. 

Place two pieces of plastic wrap on your counter and equally divide the dough (a kitchen scale is helpful here to guarantee two equal portions).  Pick up either side of the plastic wrap and gently pull the mixture into a ball. 

Gently flatten the dough into a thin disk.  This will help with rolling out the dough later.

Chill for at least one hour in the refrigerator prior to rolling.

On a lightly dusted counter roll out dough to a 1/8" thickness.  Roll dough onto your rolling pin and un-roll over your tart pan.  Trim off any excess dough by rolling pin over the top of the pan.  The dough should slice off.  If you're using a pie dish, roll dough into dish and trim edges, leaving a 1" over-hang.  Tuck overhang under dough so edges are flush with rim, and crimp edges. Lightly prick bottom of dough with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line dough with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake until edges begin to turn gold, 15 to 18 minutes. Carefully remove weights and parchment. Place back into the oven and bake until bottom and sides are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare the filling, cream together egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand up mixer.  

Whisk together the cornstarch, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Be sure to sift your cocoa powder.  Without sifting these clumps of cocoa could have lurked into the mixture causes ugly lumps down the road. 

Add the dry ingredients to the eggs and sugar mixture and mix to combine.  With your mixer on the lowest speed, add the milk and Bailey's, mix till combined.

Pour mixture into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until boiling.  Continue whisking for another two minutes while the mixture boils. Remove from heat and pour through a fine sieve to catch any lumps of egg that may have cooked. Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into pastry shell.

Chill for at least 4 hours (over night is best!)

To prepare the whipped cream, add the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand-up mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Starting on low, slowly beat the cream.  Increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture begins to thicken.  Increase speed to the highest setting and beat until peaks form. 

Give your pie a generous dollop of cream and let the fireworks begin!

Enjoy!

Pate Brisee (pie dough) courtesy of Martha Stewart

Cream Pie recipe adapted from allrecipes.com