So remember the perfect pie dish that I got from Heather for Christmas, that we used for Heather’s Mushroom, Leek and Lentil Pie? Well, we thought it was time to make a sweet pie in it!
Heather loves the combination of chocolate and bananas, and said I could go to town creating a recipe. So I came up with a chocolate banana pie, with a chocolate crust, honey toasted oats, dark chocolate pudding, and slices of fresh banana.
The chocolate pudding filling (the best part!) comes from the Chocolate Pudding Pie over at Smitten Kitchen. You should go read her blog post about her Chocolate Pudding Pie and drool a bit. Seriously delicious, and will make you want pie.
This was Heather’s first time making a sweet pie, and I thought a pudding pie would be fun because you bake the crust, and then don’t bake the filling — it chills in the fridge to set. And it turned out beautifully — we were as proud as pie!
Heather got the job of decorating the top of the pie — we sliced the bananas on an angle for ovals instead of circles. You could also decorate with whipped cream, and/or chocolate shavings!
We learned something new when blind-baking the crust. We didn’t have pie weights or dried beans at Heather’s house, so we McGyvered a solution and used a layer of parchment paper topped with the lid from a pot that happened to be the perfect size! It worked perfectly!
We recommend that you enjoy this pie cold from the fridge, with people who love chocolate and bananas.
Chocolate Pie Crust
Adapted from Love & Olive Oil’s Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 oz (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup ice cold water
In a food processor fitted with the dough hook or in a large bowl, blitz or whisk together the flour, salt, cocoa powder and sugar until just combined. Add in the butter and blitz or cut in with your fingers until you have a crumbly consistency. Sprinkle the water over the top of the mixture, then blitz or mix together until you have a ball of dough.
Roll out the dough and press it into a 23cm (9″) pie dish (that is safe to go from freezer to oven). Place the pie dish (with chocolate crust) into the freezer for a minimum of 10 minutes, while the oven is preheating.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Line crust the crust with aluminum foil or parchment, and then weight it down with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, remove from oven, and remove weights and foil or parchment. Bake for 15 minutes more at 350F. Let cool completely.
While the chocolate crust is cooling, prepare your filling.
Pie Fillings:
1) Honey Toasted Oats with Cinnamon
- 1/2 c. rolled oats
- 3 Tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Combine all ingredients and toast in a 350F oven for 15 minutes, until the oats are golden and smell divine.
2) Banana Slices
- 2 bananas, peeled & sliced
3) Dark Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Chocolate Pudding Pie
- 1/4 c. cornstarch
- 1/3 c. raw cane sugar
- 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 3 c. (750 ml) skim milk
- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a heavy bottomed pot, then gradually whisk in the milk. Turn the heat on to medium, and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Let the pudding boil for 2 minutes, constantly whisking as the pudding thickens. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the chopped chocolate and then boil, whisking, two minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.
Assemble the pie:
Sprinkle the Honey Toasted Oats with Cinnamon across the bottom of the cooled Chocolate Pie Crust. Then top with a single layer of sliced bananas (reserving some bananas for decorating the top of the pie). Pour the Dark Chocolate Pudding into the shell, and decorate with the remaining banana slices.
Chill in the fridge for 2 hours, and serve right from the fridge!
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