White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was oh so yummy. I got this recipe from Helen Roach, my pie coach and it isn't as hard as it may look.



Crust:
1 1/4 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend cookie crumbs and brown sugar, using a pastry blender to get the lumps out. Then stir in the melted butter. Press crumbs evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Make the custard while the crust is cooling.

Custard:
2/3 cup sugar
6 Tbsp cornstarch (although I used 1/2 cup)
1/8 tsp salt
5 large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter
3 medium bananas sliced

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a large mixing bowl. This evenly distributes the dry ingredients. Whisk in the eggs slowly and then add the milk immediately. Make sure the milk is ready because you don't want the egg yolks sitting in sugar.

Transfer the custard to a double boiler or heavy saucepan (I used a heavy saucepan). Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until custard is thick (the consistency of soft pudding.) Remove from stove and stir in butter and vanilla. Reserve 1/3 cup for mousse and cover with plastic wrap. Layer bananas randomly in pie shell and the pour the rest of the custard into the baked pie shell and cover with plastic wrap. Place the plastic wrap directly on the custard so that a skin won't form on top of the custard. Let this cool for at least 2 - 3 hours. (I put in the refrigerator over night and made the mousse the next day.)

Mousse:
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 Tbsp hot water
4 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup reserved custard
1 1/4 cup whipping cream

Dissolve the gelatin in the 2 T hot water for 5 minutes. Stir several times to make sure the gelatin is completely dissolved. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler, stirring it with a heat resistant rubber spatula. Then mix the gelatin into the melted chocolate. In a mixing bowl, blend the 1/3 cup of reserved custard into the white chocolate and gelatin mixture. Stir these thoroughly. Set aside.

Pour the cold heavy cream into a chilled mixing bowl and whip until stiff. You should be able to make trails and peaks in the firm cream. Stir a small amount of the whipped cream into the chocolate, just to make it workable. Fold in the remaining whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Work slowly, cutting down with the spatula, then pulling toward you, and finally lifting up with the blade of the spatula held horizontally. Don't over mix!

Heap the mousse on in a generous layer over the custard keeping the center thicker than the edges. Chill thoroughly.

This pie is better made a day ahead of time (or two if you make it in two days like I did) so that the banana flavor will intensify.

Enjoy!