Saturday, May 19, 2012

Baked Sunday Mornings: Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie


DECADENT PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA CREAM PIE FOR MY "OWL'S' CHOCOLATE PARTY

Today’s Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie is actually part II if my “chocolate” tart/pie baking adventure for my Frolicking Night Owl daughter’s chocolate party.  Part I was the FFwD Double Chocolate and Banana Tart posted 2 days ago.  With minor adjustments, both are fabulous “keeper” recipes.

To comply with being a part of a chocolate party, this pie was given a chocolate crust and melted bittersweet chocolate was swirled around the top.  Viola...this is now a Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie.
BANANA'S IN ANTIOXIDANT ORANGE JUICE--TASTES BETTER TO ME  WITH THE PIE FLAVORS THAN DORIE'S TART THAT USES LEMON JUICE ON THE BANANA SLICES
I MADE THIS PIE IN TART STYLE--WORKED WELL
The only other change was the chocolate covered peanuts that I could not add to the top...they melted before I got them home...it was 106^.  Then I decided on chopped peanut butter cups as I had a fresh bag begging to be used and I thought they would complement this pie...but unfortunately they too were melted...totally.  So, in honor of the AZ heat, my garnish then became toffee covered peanuts, which do not melt. 

I was surprised that this custardy, peanut buttery, banana pie held up at an outdoor party...I was expecting it to droop and melt just like those peanut butter cups...but, surprise, it held up even in our heat.  Wonderful!
Comparing the two pies, this was my personal favorite.  I’m a sucker for good custard and when in company with all these great flavors and ingredients, this pie is a real winner.  Dorie’s ganache and banana tart, which also has many layers, is elegant and decadent, but there are no surprises.  It tastes just as I expected it should.  But this pie with the many layers and flavors was exceptional and surprising.

And the most important reason for me persoanlly to love this pie, is that even though I am not super excited by chocolate and peanut butter together...I must have eaten too many peanut butter cups as a kid...I did love the chocolate and peanut butter paired in this pie.  This will be a good pie to make in the future for my chocolate-peanut butter lovers, and I'm excited that I can love it too.  (I know, this pie does not really have chocolate as written in the recipe, but as of this week, it does for me.)

OUTSIDE IN THE DARK--BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE THE WONDERFUL INTERIOR OF THIS PIE
I KNOW, THIS IS A TERRIBLE PHOTO, HOWEVER THIS IS MY SLICE AT THE DARK OUTDOOR PARTY AND IT IS FABULOUS!
This Baked pie brought several great flavor layers together and it truly surprised me with all the wonderful  layers that worked so well together.  It was worth all the steps and all the dirty dishes.  I will do it all again soon and this time I will anticipate eating more of this pie myself...no sharing with a chocolate party!

I'm excited to see all your pies.  I'm in the mood to bake this one again tomorrow!

13 comments:

  1. Just gorgeous, Kris. I decided to sit this one out since I still have some of the FFWD tart left. I will probably make this for my brother some day, though - these are all his favorite flavors. I think your topping looks so much better than chocolate covered peanuts, anyway! I'm sure your daughter was very happy with your creations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wondered where your post was this week! :)

      Delete
  2. Love the look of this pie. I'll have to try it, especially since you liked the flavors better with this pie than with Dorie's tart!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful! I love the toffee peanuts on top and thought that toffee pieces would be great here.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am SO going to make your version the next time, Kris! I LOVE peanut butter and chocolate and your pie looks fabulous! I agree that the orange juice is a much more subtle taste than the lemon juice. I will remake Dorie's tart at some point and make some adjustments and see how we like it. This pie just has all the flavors that I really enjoy and I was inspired by your Dorie post to drizzle some chocolate on top because I didn't have any chocolate covered peanuts and wasn't going to put bananas on top. ;) It was just the right touch!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks so pretty!!! Love the chocolate swirls!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow, a great twist on this one! looks absolutely delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chocolate crust - great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anything is better with chocolate! Yours looks terrific!

    ReplyDelete
  9. that chocolate swirl on top totally takes this to the next level!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, my...a few of you had quite a banana filled weekend! Another beautiful creation!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow! This looks gorgeous…sinfully delicious looking!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kris, this tart looks absolutely phenomenal! I love chocolate and banana together and I wish I had your pie instead of the original version!

    ReplyDelete