It's the perfect take on the classic, made only better with brulèe'd banana slices, chantilly whip and a vanilla bean speckled custard sitting on a flakey butter crust.
This pie is the perfect balance of familiar flavors and subtle sweetness. The vanilla bean, white chocolate, dark chocolate and banana combo can’t be beat. What I love most about this recipe is that unlike most custard bases, you don’t need to separate out the yolks and save the whites for a meringue topping or another use.
custard filling:
2 cups + 2 tablespoons / 500g whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
⅓ cup / 67g sugar
2 large eggs
5 tablespoons / 35g cornstarch
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup / 45g white chocolate
¼ cup / 60g salted butter
whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream (cold)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
pie crust:
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter
⅓ cup ice water
1½ teaspoons vinegar
1½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups flour
toppings:
brûlée’d bananas, chocolate shards, powdered sugar
For the pie shell:
Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes and place it in the freezer. Measure the ice water, then stir in the vinegar, sugar, and salt until fully dissolved. Set in the freezer to chill.
Put the flour into a chilled mixing bowl.
Take the butter from the freezer and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work it into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Break down any larger pieces of butter so they’re no bigger than small peas.
Gradually drizzle the cold water–vinegar mixture over the flour and butter, tossing first, then gently pressing with your hands, until the dough just holds together.
Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Lightly butter a 10-inch pie dish.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a well-floured surface to prevent sticking, then place it into the pie dish.
Trim off the extra dough so that the edges just meet the counter beneath the pie dish.
Gather the trimmings, press them into a rectangular disk, and wrap in plastic for later use.
Chill both the pie shell and the scrap dough for at least 30 minutes.
For the custard:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until smooth with no lumps. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean until just shy of scalding. Do not let it boil or burn, so stay nearby.
When the milk reaches scalding point, turn off the heat. While whisking constantly, slowly stream in about ½ to 1 cup of hot milk at a time into the egg–cornstarch–sugar mixture. Continue adding the milk gradually, whisking all the while, until it’s fully incorporated.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a coated whisk (or a regular one if needed). Scrape the bottom as you stir to monitor thickening and prevent curdling. The custard thickens very quickly, so the moment you feel it start to firm up, remove it from the heat immediately and pour it through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl in an ice bath. Don’t panic if it feels thick and a bit lumpy at once—just get it off the heat and into the sieve right away.
Press the custard through the sieve with a spatula or whisk. Small lumps should disappear; if they don’t, the eggs likely scrambled and you’ll need to start again.
Stir in the salted butter, white chocolate chips, and vanilla extract until just combined (do not overmix). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Chill the custard for at least a few hours. It can be prepared up to 5 days in advance if kept well covered and very cold.
For the toppings:
To brulee the bananas, slice them and sprinkle them with sugar. Then use a blowtorch to cure the sugar on top until golden and crackly.
For the whipped cream, beat all the ingredients in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form.