Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie

For my research project in English class my topic is on doughs and batters and one of my little sub topics is pie. I don't have much experience making pie but I thought it couldn't be that difficult, theres 3 ingredients plus salt. I deffinitly need more practice lol, the crust came out good but its hard to work with pie dough. You have to barely handel the dough to prevent it from becoming tough. I used my food processor to combine the flour and fats (shortening and butter), but next time I will use a pastry blender to have more control over the size of the fat pieces. I am planning on making a savory pie, Quiche, this weekend and hopefully it will be prettier than the one pictured above. I was really disappointed I didn't have enough extra dough to make a pretty decorative border.

I am not by any means saying this pie wasn't good, it was delicious. The bottom of the crust is coated with chocolate to prevent sogginess, then theres a layer of sweet sliced bananas, filled with home made custard and topped with fresh sweetend whip cream and garnished with chocolate drizzle and more sliced bananas.

When I began baking this, I was way more intimidated to make the custard than the pie crust. I had never made custard before and was afraid I would end up with scrambled eggs and boiled milk all over the stove (this happened once making oatmeal, it NEVER comes off). I followed a recipe for pastry cream from The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, a very reliable cookbook, and it was surprisingly easy. I started off by simmering some whole milk and combining egg yokes, sugar and a little flour in a separate bowl. Then you first temper the eggs to prevent scrambling, and add them to the milk and simmer while whisking until it thickens. Just let it chill in the fridge and thats it!

I topped this pie with some fresh whipped cream to make it super decadent. Fresh whipped cream is incredibly easy and way better than anything in a can or a tub from the grocery store. It does, however, consist of heavy cream (sometimes called whipping cream) so its very high in calories and expensive, like $5 for a little carton. I highly recommend it for special occasions. All you really need is the heavy cream, if you like it sweet, like I do, put a few heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla in with the cream before you begin mixing.

Whip Cream

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Chill a metal bowl and your mixing utensils in the freezer for about 10 minutes, having them very cold helps the cream whip.
2. Combine all ingredients in the bowl and whip until peaks form. I use an electric mixer and it takes about three minutes, your shoulder will get tired.
3. Serve immediately.

Banana Split Cupcakes

These banana split cupcakes turned out absolutely beautiful. Its a fluffy banana cupcake with sweet strawberry filling topped with fresh whipped cream, rich chocolate ganach, rainbow jimmies and a maraschino cherry. I love maraschino cherries, I order rum cokes just for the cherries and sneak them from the bar top when no ones looking lol. Back to the cupcakes, this recipe made 30 so I brought a dozen to work and a dozen to my boyfriend and his roommates leaving the rest for my family. These tempting treats were quickly devoured by my coworkers and family and my boyfriend had one for breakfast. They were a huge hit.

gather all necessary ingredients and equipment before
 you start to make things go more smoothly

I found this recipe on Annie's Eats and copied it exactly for the most part. I think the only thing I changed was omitting the canned pineapple because I hate canned pineapple. I considered using fresh but worried about the enzymes destroying the cake. I also used thawed frozen strawberries and added and extra tablespoon of powdered sugar to the berries. I also had to double the amount of whip cream because the amount she listed was not enough for all 30 cupcakes.

unusual beginnings

A big concern I had when decorating these was worrying the ganache would melt the whip cream. To avoid this catastrophe, I let the frosted cupcakes chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours. I also let the ganache cool to the touch before applying it. Another concern was having to keep these treats refrigerated, I think refrigeration dries out cake and kills flavors however, these cupcakes are incredibly moist and were just as good the next day. I had also never made cake were the butter and sugar creamed like this recipe. Usually creaming yields a light and fluffy butter and sugar combo but this was grainy looking and I was concerned they were not going to rise properly. Lucky for me they rose perfectly but this could have been due to the large amount of baking soda. I think if I were to make these again I would cut down the amount of sugar to 1 1/2 cups to get a more standard batter.

PB Banana Oat Muffins

sweet and healthy for an everyday snack

I have been baking these muffins regularly for about 3 years now. It all started when I shared a banana chocolate chunk muffin from Trader Joe's with my friend Lisa and she suggested I could make my own to save money. Not only did I produce a less expensive muffin but I created one with more protein and less sugar than anything I could buy. I used a basic recipe I found online that featured peanut butter and ripe bananas to replace the butter and add sweetness. Then I substituted Truvia for the sugar, eliminating any processed sugar from my muffins. All the while experimenting with various types of flour; soy, wheat, and oat to name a few, mixed with protein powder to up the protein content. For a long time I used a combo of soy flour and chocolate protein which was great until I stumbled upon peanut flour in the aisles of Trader Joe's. Peanut flour proved to be a dream come true, high in protein, low in fat, and full of fiber, it also tasted just like peanut butter which is my absolute favorite! The three dollar per bag peanut flour was also so high in protein it eliminated the need for pricey protein powder in the muffins. Currently, I am trying to figure out a way to keep the muffins pooffed up, once they come out of the oven the tops tend to flatten out which doesn't affect the flavor, just the appearance.
For this version I used half peanut flour and half oatmeal which produced a heartier crumb. I also folded in some chocolate chips I had leftover from a cupcake recipe but you can mix in 1/2 to 1 cup of anything like walnuts, blueberries, or raisons.

chocolate oat chunks surrounded by peanut butteriness

Peanut Butter Oat Muffins

Ingredients
3 ripe bananans (brown ones)
1/4 cup peanut butter, melted
1/3 cup trivia or sugar
1/3 cup water or milk, omit if using regular sugar
1 egg white
1 teaspoon pure vanilla exrtact
3/4 cup peanut flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips, or mix in of choice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas and add next five ingredients blending well.
3. In a measuring cup, or another bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir to distribute.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined, you may need to add more water or milk. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Notes
I have made this many times with only two bananas and it has been completely successful. If using regular sugar, don't add any water/milk until the end. Besides adding sweetness, sugar also lends moisture to baked goods. Most sugar substitutes do not. I have yet to try these muffins with honey or maple syrup but I think these liquid sweeteners would be successful. Oat flour can also be substituted for the peanut flour. To make oat flour, put rolled oats in a food processor and pulse until flour consistency, measure the 3/4 cup from the oat flour not the rolled oats.