Banana-Caramel-Hazelnut Cream Pie

Sunday's mission was to prepare dessert without leaving the house to purchase any extra ingredients. Basically it was clean the pantry & freezer day.
Pastry dough, whipping cream, and frozen bananas are staples in the kitchen, but I surprised myself by having sliced hazelnuts on hand. Whip it all together with the addition of Frangelico (hazelnut liquor) and it's a dessert worthy of snug waistbands. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Banana-Caramel-Hazelnut Cream Pie - Recipe

I've seen recipes online for 'Banoffee' pies (banana+toffee) and many used pre-mixed custard, caramel/toffee from a jar, and often graham or chocolate cookie crumb base. Instead of pre-made anything, this dessert uses the regular 'inside the lard-box' recipe for pastry, the banana custard filling from a previous recipe, and real whipped cream so I don't think it should be compared to 'banoffee'. I didn't distill the Frangelico but you can bet I would have if I could have.

Looks like a lengthy recipe? Do yourself a favour and make the pastry days (or even weeks) ahead. Prepare the dough and roll it into pie or tart shells then wrap securely with plastic and place in the freezer. When you get the hankerin' for a pie, the hardest part is already completed. Also, chilling dough (and that includes freezing it) allows to gluten to relax; you end up with tender & flaky pastry instead of shrinking, chewy dough.

Ingredients:

Crust:
5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
1 lb lard, cubed and chilled
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 egg
*3/4 cup cold water

Caramel:
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Frangelico
2 Tbsp 35% cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Filling:
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup 10% cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn flour
1 tsp kosher salt
3 egg yolks
2 sheets gelatin
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup 35% cream
2 Tbsp Frangelico

Garnish:
1/2 cup 35% cream, whipped to stiff peaks
1/4 cup sliced hazelnuts, lightly toasted
Reserved caramel sauce

Method:

Prepare the pastry:

• Crack egg into a 1 cup glass measure and add vinegar; add enough water to make 1 cup of total combined liquid, stir with a fork; set aside.

• In a large bowl sift flour with salt then add cubed lard. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut lard into the flour mixture until it resembles course oatmeal. A few larger pieces of lard are ok (1 cm) but anything bigger should be cut down further.

• Stir in liquid and using your fingers like a rake, gently moisten the dough until it holds together when pressed. Press into a log or ball shape, cover tightly with plastic, and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

• Once the dough has rested, roll pastry on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Press into pie or tart pans, dock with a fork (dock = poke holes in the bottom so the air can escape through the crust when baking - you only do this when the crust is baked separate from the filling, like in this recipe), and place in the freezer until needed (this can be done up to 2 months in advance, if tightly wrapped). Preheat oven to 375 F. Lining the rolled tart pan with parchment paper and dried beans, blind bake pastry for 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove paper and beans and continue to bake until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes longer. Allow to cool.

Prepare the filling:

• Place gelatin sheets in cold water to bloom and set aside. Puree banana, 10% cream, and sugar together. Add to this mixture the corn flour, salt, and egg yolks; puree again.

• Pour mixture into a medium sized pot and cook over medium heat until thickened and begins to bubble; remove from heat.

• Remove gelatin from water, squeezing off excess liquid, and add to filling; stir in butter. Puree again to ensure there aren't any lumps. Chill filling for at least 30 minutes or until cool.

• Whip 35% cream to stiff peaks, stir in Frangelico. Fold whipped cream into chilled banana filling and set aside.

Prepare caramel:

• Place water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow sugar to caramelize. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour in Frangelico, cream, then stir in butter. Be careful when adding any liquid to the bubbling caramel - it is extremely hot and the liquid will sputter, steam, and splatter. Add only a little liquid at a time. Set caramel aside to cool slightly.

Assemble the pie:

• Pour 3/4 of the cooled caramel onto the cooked & cooled pastry. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set completely. Spoon banana filling over top of caramel and spread out evenly using a spoon. Allow filling to set at least 1 hour before topping with unsweetened whipped cream and toasted nuts. This tart will be set in 3 hours but will taste best in 6.