Banana Cream Recipe

Make dough

In a large bowl whisk together rye flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold cubed butter and, using a pastry cutter or fingertips, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces remaining.

Sprinkle ice water over flour-butter mixture 1 tablespoon at a time and gently toss with a fork until dough just comes together when pressed. Do not overwork. Divide dough into two disks (one slightly larger for bottom), wrap in plastic, and chill at least 30 minutes.

On lightly floured surface, roll larger disk into a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick and fit into a 9- or 10-inch pie dish, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Trim and crimp edges. Line crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Chill 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Blind-bake crust: bake with weights 20 minutes, remove weights and parchment, brush any puffed areas down with a spatula, and bake another 8–10 minutes until set and lightly golden. Let cool completely on rack.

If using vanilla bean, split and scrape seeds. In a medium saucepan, combine milk and vanilla seeds and pod (or milk and vanilla extract) and heat until just steaming; do not boil. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes to infuse (if using pod, discard pod after).

In a bowl whisk together sugar and cornstarch until uniform. Add egg yolks and whisk until pale and slightly thickened.

Temper eggs: slowly pour about 1/2 cup of hot milk into yolk mixture while whisking constantly to raise temperature. Then pour tempered yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining milk, whisking.

Return pan to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a gentle boil, about 2–4 minutes. Boil 30 seconds while whisking to fully cook the cornstarch. Remove from heat.

Whisk in softened butter and salt until smooth and glossy. Pour pastry cream into a clean bowl, cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming, and chill until cold, at least 2 hours.

Prepare bananas: toss the 3 sliced bananas (for inside) with the lemon juice in a bowl to slow browning.

Once pastry cream and crust are fully cooled, spoon about 1 cup of pastry cream into the bottom of the baked crust and spread into an even layer to act as a moisture barrier.

Arrange half of the sliced bananas in a single layer over that thin cream layer. Spoon half of the pastry cream over the banana layer and smooth. Repeat with remaining sliced bananas and the rest of the pastry cream, smoothing the top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or until set (overnight is fine).

Before serving, make whipped cream: beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Spread or pipe whipped cream decoratively over chilled pie.

Halve the remaining 2 bananas lengthwise, brush lightly with a little lemon juice to prevent browning, and arrange on top of whipped cream. If desired, scatter chocolate shavings and toasted nuts over pie for garnish.

Chill assembled pie 15–30 minutes before slicing to help set the topping. Use a hot, clean knife (dip in hot water and wipe dry between cuts) to make neat slices.