For Your Pies Only

Happy banana cream pie day! They’ll make a day for anything, right? Use this as your excuse to celebrate with a slice of custardy goodness. 

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 large whole egg, lightly beaten, plus 4 large egg yolks

5 medium-ripe bananas

3 cups whole milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

5 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons melted caramel

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and coconut. Melt butter an stir into dry ingredients. Press mixture into pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks; set aside. In a saucepan, whisk together milk, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a simmer (do not boil), and cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes.

Whisk a quarter of hot-milk mixture into egg yolks; whisk in remaining milk mixture. Strain into a clean saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until custard is thick and bubbles appear in center, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cut 3 or 4 bananas into 1/4-inch slices, slightly on the bias. Beginning at the edge of the piecrust, arrange the slices in slightly overlapping rows. Cover with custard, spreading it into a smooth, even layer. Cut another banana and layer on top of the custard.

In a separate bowl, combine cream and confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Spread the whipped cream on top of the custard. Drizzle with melted caramel. Refrigerate pie, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

ForYourPiesOnly.com recently celebrated its 5th birthday. What an adventure this blog has been and continues to be. I continue to learn new skills both in baking and behind the scenes blog work. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me, cheered me on, and shared in this pie path with me. I love all of you! 

I’ve been making a lot of pies lately due to the holidays, but all of them recipes I’ve baked many times. To change things up, I celebrated my blog birthday by trying out this blackberry buckle pie. This pie reminds me a bit of cake, a bit of bar cookie, and a bit of delicious fruit pie. It was a nice glimpse of summer in this dead of winter.

Happy baking, friends!

Blackberry buckle pie 

(adapted from Pie It Forward by Gesine Bullock-Prado)

Ingredients: 

Single flaky pie crust

Filling

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups blackberries (can be fresh or frozen)

Topping

1 cup unsalted butter, melted 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 Celsius). Roll out bottom crust and place into a 9-inch pie plate. Cover crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights (I use dry beans) and bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and foil and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. 

Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. 

In a third bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. 

Add in flour mixture to the sugar and butter, alternating with adding in the buttermilk mixture until all ingredients are completely combined. Fold in blackberries gently, using a rubber spatula. 

For crumb topping, stir together the melted butter, both sugars, salt and flour. Using a fork or your hands, continue to mix until the mixture forms clumps like wet sand.