ramazan special
As the month of Ramazan is in full-swing, we are looking forward to all the iftar parties coming up. If you are hosting one at your home, we have an absolutely incredible dessert recommendation for you. This week, You! collaborates with Kausar Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Kitchen Crafts, to bring to you a special recipe of Banana Cream Pie.
Ingredients
Flakey pie dough as required
Milk chocolate (coarsely chopped) 1/2 cup
Heavy cream 1 cup
Sugar 2 tbsp
Caramel 1/4 cup
Pastry cream 2 cups
Bananas (sliced into thick rounds) 2
Chocolate curls for garnishing
For pie dough
Flour 11/4 cups
Cold butter (cut into 1/2 inch pieces) 1 stick
Salt 1/4 tsp
Ice water 3-5 tbsp
- Mix together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips just until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Drizzle 3 tbsp ice water evenly over mixture and gently mix together until incorporated.
- Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tbsp at a time, stirring.
- Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Gather dough together, and press into a 5- inch disk.
- Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
For Pastry Cream
Milk 2 cups
Vanilla essence 1 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Corn flour 3-4 tbsp
Sugar 1/2 cup
Eggs 2
Butter 4 tbsp
- Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan, add vanilla essence and salt
- Place over medium high heat, and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally.
- In a bowl mix, together the cornflour and sugar, adding the eggs and whisking.
- Slowly pour about 1/2 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking till smooth and pouring it back into the pan.
- Cook on medium heat until thick.
- Remove from heat and immediately pour into a sieve.
- Let cool for 5 minutes
- Add the butter, whisking to mix well.
For caramel sauce
Water 1/2 cup
Sugar 11/4 cups
Salt 1/2 tsp
Heavy cream 1 cup
Vanilla essence (optional) 1 tsp
- In a stainless steel pan, combine water, sugar, and salt over medium heat.
- Stir with a fork until syrup comes to a boil, about 4 mins, then simmer without stirring until syrup is honey-coloured, roughly 6 mins. Shaking and swirling as needed to ensure even caramelisation.
- Continue cooking until syrup is light to medium amber, a minute more. Immediately add cream and reduce heat to medium-low.
METHOD
- Have the pie shell ready for filling
- Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler
- With a spatula spread the melted chocolate evenly over the bottom of the pie shell.
- Refrigerate for 10 minutes
- Whip the cream, adding sugar until soft peaks form.
- Remove pie shell from fridge and drizzle caramel evenly over the chocolate.
- Pour the pastry cream in the pie shell
- Arrange the banana slices evenly over the pastry cream
- Spread the whipped cream on top.
- Garnish with chocolate curls
- Chill the pie until the pastry cream is set.
Ready in 1 hour 40 minutes (Serves 6-8) Image: Maryam Ashraf of Marsha Photography