Strawberry Banana Cream Pie

I just had to sneak in one last strawberry dessert before the local strawberry season ended. I picked up a plump juicy basket of berries at the farmers market on Saturday morning and on Sunday I set about to make this strawberry-banana cream pie. While I consider myself somewhat experienced at baking (I've been baking much longer that I've been cooking), I'd never made a custard before, so this recipe was new territory for me. It made me nervous. At first glance I thought, "oh my, there's so many steps!", which is true. This pie took some careful planning and the better part of the afternoon to pull off. But some things are just worth it! What better way to spend my last day without school pressures (I started back to classes yesterday) than in a cute apron in my sunny kitchen baking?

These are my words of wisdom on this recipe:

If at all possible, use a food processor to create the crust (Cuisinart has made my life so much simpler!)
Don't overbake the crust (next time I'll remove the foil after 20 minutes and then only bake it for several more minutes until it is lightly browned- because it turned out slightly firmer than I'd prefer)
Commit all of your attention to the custard (it would be easy to scorch and a smooth creamy filling really makes this dessert)
Find the freshest ripest berries
Wait to assemble the pie until soon before serving (while all three parts can be made ahead of time, last-minute assembly prevents sogginess)

And that's it! All it takes is a little time and confidence (you can always fake it) to make this rich and delicious pie.

INGREDIENTS
For the tart crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick + 1 Tbsp.) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk

For the custard filling:
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
pinch of salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 ripe bananas, sliced
10 strawberries, sliced

For the whipped topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS (directly from Joy the Baker)
1. To make the tart crust:
Put the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor fit the the blade attachment. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the pieces of cold butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in. There will be pieces of butter that are the size of oatmeal flakes and butter the size of peas. Beat the egg yolk with a fork and add a little of the egg yolk at a time to the flour mixture. Pulse for 10 seconds at a time. When the egg is in, process in longer pulses until the dough forms clumps and curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that may have escaped mixing.

Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and the sides of the pan. Press the crust so that the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of foil and fit the foil, butter side down, tightly against the frozen crust. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust is puffed, gently press it down with your fingers.

Bake the uncovered crust for 8 to 10 more minutes (mine only needed 4-5 more minutes, and I might take it out even sooner next time) on the baking sheet. Keep an eye on the crust. It will brown quickly.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before filling.

2. To make the filling:
Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.
In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the brown sugar, cornstarch and salt until well blended and thick. Whisking without stopping, drizzle about 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, warming the eggs so they don’t cook and curdle. Still whisking, slowly add the rest of the hot milk in a steady steam.

Place the pan over medium heat and, whisking constantly (make sure to get the edges of the pan), bring the mixture to a boil. Boil, still whisking for one minute before removing from the pan from the heat. Mixture will be thick and silky. Be warned, once the mixture starts to boil, it will thicken very quickly. Don’t be afraid to remove the pan from the flame to whisk it smooth.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let stand for 5 minutes then whisk in the butter, stirring until fully incorporated and the custard is smooth and silky. Transfer custard to a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic touches the surface of the custard and refrigerate until cold throughout. Custard can be refrigerated up to three days.

When ready to assemble the pie, slice bananas and strawberries into thin, round slices.

Whisk the cold custard to loosen. Add a handful of banana slices. Stir.
Arrange a thin layer of banana slices on the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange a thin layer of strawberries atop the bananas. Reserve some strawberries for topping the pie. Top with banana custard. Smooth out a refrigerate while you make the whipped cream.

3. To make the whipped cream topping:
With a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat heave cream until it just starts to thicken. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Continue to beat until the cream holds stiff peaks. With a rubber spatula, spoon whipped cream onto banana cream pie filling. Top with sliced strawberries.

Serve pie immediately or refrigerate for several hours before serving. This pie is best served the day it is made, but also isn’t too shabby the next day for a breakfast treat.

Makes a 9-inch round pie.

(Adapted from Joy the Baker, originally adapted from Dorie Greenspan)