Chocolate Banana Tart

 I dunno Feathers, I heard her tell the kid it was, "Mouse-like", but it sure don't look like any mouse I know. I'm an adventurous eater and all...hey remember that time we was up Canada way and had those lemmings? Man, it was like all you had to do was sit at the bottom of the cliff, and the food just fell into your caw! I don't think this is mouse, Feathers. It looks like something you'd find at the bottom of a bog. You gonna try it? I'm going to check the traps the lady human keeps under the basin-better chance of finding a mouse I'd be comfortable calling dinner. But hey Feathers, go ahead and tuck in without me.




I've made my share of chocolate/banana/pies, but this one is noteworthy for being extremely rich, without being overly sweet. It is also a colossal pain in the arse to make. Colossal. There are probably easier ways to deal with a bunch of overripe bananas-but I can truthfully say, this is worth the effort. This is the fifth recipe I've made from this cookbook, and all have been excellent, if not a bit tricky to prepare.

Recipe from, Chocolate by, Nick Malgieri 1998

For the Crust:

1 cup plain flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 large egg
A few drops of water if needed

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until fine. Beat egg lightly, then add to dough and mix just until it comes together. Add a few drops of water if dough is too dry. Gather into a ball, flatten to a disk, Wrap in cling film and chill several hours before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line pie plate or tart pan with crust (I used a pie plate). Line insdie of dough with foil, then fill with dried beans (or pie weights if you have them). Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans, and bake another 5-10 minutes until done. Because the dough is dark, you'll have to watch it carefully. I like to cool my blind baked shells on a rack, but if it feels too fragile to remove from the plate, just cool it in the tin on a rack.

Meanwhile, make the filling:

1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour)
3 egg yolks
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped small
3/4 cup whipping cream
3 large bananas, sliced

Heat milk and sugar in a saucepan to boiling. In a heatproof bowl, combine egg with the cornstarch dissolved in about 1 tablespoon of water (use more if you need it). Beat boiling milk in a stream into egg mixture, then return it to the pan. Cook over medium heat until it thickens. Remove from heat, whisk in chocolate. Scrape into a bowl, place cling film directly on the filling (or if you're paranoid about plastic, use a buttered piece of wax paper) Chill. Whip cream and set aside in fridge.

Finishing:

When filling is cold, fold in whipped 3/4 cup of cream. Fold in sliced bananas.   Whip 1 cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Use this to top the pie. Decorate with chocolate shavings. I just made a batch of banana chips, so I employed them as well.