Lets Have Some Pie

Traditional Banana Cream Pie

1 premade pie crust, baked
three small to medium-sized bananas
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk or light cream
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter

Place the dry ingredients in a saucepan. Add the milk or light cream and whisk together. Add the egg yolks and whisk those in.
Heat over low heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture is thick and just begins to bubble. Add the butter and vanilla and stir.
Let the mixture cool for fifteen minutes. Spread the banana slices evenly across the bottom of the pie shell. Pour the filling over the banana slices. Chill for several hours. Garnish with whipped cream.

To make a Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie, make as above except add a layer of chocolate ganache across the bottom of the pie crust, a chocolate layer under the banana filling. Ganache is wonderful, all-purpose, chocolate filling that is used in pastries, cake coatings, and as filling between cake layers.  Here’s how to make it:

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup dark chocolate wafers or dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
Put all three ingredients in a medium, microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave it in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted, stirring between intervals.  The ganache will thicken as it cools.  You may thin it further with additional cream.