recipe from joythebaker.com
adapted from Martha Stewart, but mostly from me.
For the Crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the Chocolate Layer:
2 ounces of dark chocolate, melted over a double boiler
For the Peanut Butter Layer:
3/4 cup homemade peanut butter, or the jarred stuff, chunky or smooth as you see fit
For the Banana Layer:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter
3 ripe bananas, thinly sliced
For the Whipped Cream Layer:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the crust, stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt
together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until
all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. I use my fingers.
Turn the ingredients into a 9-inch pie pan and pat with your fingers
to create an even layer of crumbs of the bottom and up the sides of the
pie pan.
Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once heated, place the pie crust
on the center rack of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from
oven and set crust aside to cool.
For the chocolate layer, put two inches of water in a medium sauce
pan, once simmering, place a larger bowl with the 2 ounces of chocolate
in it over the simmering water. Melt the chocolate in this double
boiler situation. Once cooled, pour into the baked graham cracker
crust and spread around with a spatula. Place in the refrigerator to
cool and harden.
Prepare the peanut butter. Once the chocolate is cooled, spread the peanut butter over the melted and hardened chocolate.
To prepare the banana filling, combine granulated sugar, cornstarch,
and salt in a bowl. Add egg yolks, and whisk until smooth. Bring milk
to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup milk to yolk
mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour mixture
into pan with hot milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture
begins to bubble and is very thick, about 6 minutes. Make sure to keep
an eye on this and whisk constantly over a low flame. The cornstarch
will make the mixture thicken quickly.
Pour milk mixture through a large-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add
butter, and stir until melted. Fold in bananas. Pour into crust. Place
plastic wrap directly on surface of filling to prevent a skin from
forming. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Make the topping: Beat together cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft
peaks form. Spread whipped cream over filling. Using a rubber spatula
or the back of a spoon, shape topping into peaks.
Make chocolate shavings: Carefully run a sharp knife along the back
side of a dark chocolate bar towards yourself. Quickly sprinkle the
shavings on the top of the pie. It's that easy!