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1 cup (155g) all-purpose flour, plus
more for rolling
½ cup (80g) pastry or cake flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
a pinch of ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup (115g) unsalted butter or lard,
cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
Banana Cream Filling:
95g milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup (225g) heavy whipping cream
Ginger Pastry Cream
5 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into
¼-inch slices
1 tablespoon finely chopped candied
ginger, plus more for garnish, optional
Milk chocolate for shaving, optional
Ginger Pastry Cream:
3 large egg yolks
70g sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
a pinch of salt
a drop of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
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Method:
To make Ginger Pastry Cream:
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl
until the sugar is dissolved; set aside. Put the milk, ginger
and salt in a small saucepan and warm over medium-high heat until
bubbles form around the edges, about 5 minutes. Remove from the
heat and add the warm milk to the egg yolks in a slow, steady stream,
whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan, set
over low heat and cook, whisking constantly and vigorously, until the
mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. The cream should stick to the
bottom of the saucepan and form a ribbon on the surface when you lift
the whisk. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and then
the butter until melted and smooth. Transfer the pastry cream to
a large bowl, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap, and let it
set and thicken at room temperature, about 2 hours. (If you are
preparing this ahead of time, refrigerate the cream until ready to
use). To make the Pastry: Put the flours, sugar,
ginger, cinnamon and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or your fingers until the
mixture resembles cornmeal. Gently knead the dough, adding ice
water 1 tablespoon at a time, until you can squeeze the mixture into a
ball. On a temperate dry day, you will need about ¼ cup water.
Form the dough into a ball, press it into a 1-inch-thick disk, and
wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least an
hour. Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin. Roll
the dough into a 12-inch circle, ¼-inch thick, rotating the circle a
quarter turn with each roll. Lightly flour the dough and loosely
roll it around the rolling pin, then unroll it into a 9-inch glass or
ceramic pie dish and press gently into the dish. Trim any excess
dough and decoratively crimp the edge, if desired. Loosely cover
with plastic wrap and freeze until hard, at least 30 minutes.
Line the dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried
beans. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Turn the
heat down to 160°C and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the
pie weights and parchment paper and bake the crust until browned and
dry to the touch, about 20 minutes more. Remove from the
oven and cool completely. To make the Filling: Melt the
chocolate in a double boiler or heatproof bowl set over a larger pan
of hot water. As soon as the chocolate melts, stir well, pour
into the cooled piecrust, and spread evenly in a thin layer. Let
the chocolate cool and harden. Put the heavy cream in the bowl
of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on
medium speed until medium peaks form. (When you lift the whisk
from the mixture, a peak will form and the very tip of the peak will
fall back down). Fold one-third of the whipped cream into the
pastry cream to lighten it. Then fold in another third.
Set the remaining whipped cream aside. Spread half of the pastry
cream mixture in the piecrust. Top with a layer of half the
sliced bananas and half the chopped ginger. Repeat with another
layer of pastry cream, bananas, and ginger, then spread the reserved
whipped cream decoratively on top of the pie. Garnish with the
candied ginger and shaved milk chocolate on top, if desired.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 6 hours before serving.
If you do not have pastry or cake flour, substitute another ½ cup
(80g) all-purpose flour and add ½ teaspoon lemon juice with the ice
water to keep the crust tender and flaky. Chocolate and banana
are meant for each other, but the thin layer of milk chocolate lining
the crust also keeps the crust nice and crisp. This pie is
perfect on its own, or garnish it with milk chocolate shavings by
running a vegetable peeler along a bar of chocolate.
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