RICH DESSERT
Indulgent pie
INGREDIENTS
PIE BASE
113g butter
100g white sugar
100g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
180g all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
175g chocolate chips (or chunks)
FILLING
375 ml whole fresh milk 1½ tbsp cornflour
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 ripe bananas (sliced)
A pinch of salt
TOPPING
240 ml heavy cream 2 tbsp icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla
RECIPE PIE BASE
Preheat the oven to180ºC and prepare the baking tray – preferably a nine centimetre pie dish or tray.
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients except the chocolate chips or chunks. Cream together the butter and sugar until light, add the egg and beat until fluffy.
Then include the vanilla and stir. Mix in the dry ingredients with a spoon, taking care not to overmix. Once the dough appears homogenous, add the chocolate chips or chunks.
Press the dough into the pie dish to form a uniform layer that’s not too thick. Bake for about 1015 minutes. The risen dough will deflate once taken out of the oven.
CUSTARD FILLING
If you’re using slices of banana or any other fruit, arrange them on the cooled pie base.
In a bowl, make a slurry with around two or three tablespoons of milk and cornflour. Set aside. Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks in a small, deep and heatproof bowl, and set aside.
Whisk together the remaining milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan, and place over medium heat.
Stir occasionally and don’t allow the milk to boil. Once the milk is steaming, remove half a cup of it and add it to the egg yolks in a continuous stream while whisking the eggs. Make sure they don’t curdle.
Add the tempered egg mixture to the milk and cook the pudding over medium heat, whisking constantly until it has thickened.
Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Pour over the fruit slices or directly onto the pie base. Cover the custard with a cellophane wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
Once the pie has cooled, refrigerate it until the custard has set.
TOPPING
Whip the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Very cold heavy cream and a cold bowl increase your chances of success. Decorate or plop on the pie and serve.
FOOTNOTES If you like, double the ingredients for the pie base and make cookies or freeze for later use. A batch of frozen cookie dough can always come in handy. The filling is a basic vanilla pudding.