HAPPY PI DAY
Three Recipes for Fruit & Cream-Filled Crusts in Celebration of Pi Day
Banana Rum Coconut Pie
This pie is a delightful treat that transcends seasons—it’s brightening in spring, refreshing in summer, comforting in fall, and cheering in winter. Opt for slightly green bananas for frying as they maintain their shape well, balance the overall sweetness, and add texture to the filling. But if you like sweeter bananas or have ripe ones that need to be used up, those will still be fine. Keep in mind that cooking the rum will burn off some, if not most, of the alcohol content, though some traces may remain.
Ingredients
Banana Rum Coconut Filling
1 premade pie shell
3 cups half-and-half
4 egg yolks
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter, plus more for frying
2 large bananas
¾ cup rum
2 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened coconut
Whipped Cream Topping
2 cups cream
¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup sweetened coconut
Vanilla extract to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Press the premade pie shell into a pie dish, then pierce the bottom with a few fork holes. Blind-bake until golden brown (for about 15 minutes). Set aside to cool.
Slice the bananas into quarter-inch slices. Bring a frying pan to medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of butter, along with the brown sugar and enough rum to coat the pan bottom. Once melted, carefully layer the banana slices in the pan and allow both sides to brown slightly. You may need to do this in batches and add more butter/brown sugar/rum as necessary. Arrange the browned bananas on the bottom of the pie shell. Pour the remaining rum into the frying pan, reduce to about a quarter of the original volume, and then remove it from heat.
In a medium saucepan, prepare the pastry cream. Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in the saucepan. In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk together the half-and-half and egg yolks. Gradually whisk a bit of the liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Once fully incorporated, add the remaining liquid and whisk together. Set the burner heat to medium-high and bring the liquid to a full boil for one minute, allowing it to thicken. Remove the pastry cream from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract, butter, shredded coconut, and rum reduction. Pour this mixture over the browned banana layer. Allow the pie to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
For the whipped cream topping, use an electric mixer to beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff. Toast the sweetened coconut in a frying pan. Once the pie is thoroughly chilled, top it with the whipped cream and garnish with the toasted coconut.
Peach Custard Pie
Most fruits work for this pie recipe. Naturally firmer varieties, like pear, hold up well when fresh, while fleshier produce, such as berries and stone fruit, tend to bake better when frozen. But given the recipe’s ease of assembly, embrace experimentation! Nutmeg really carries the flavor profile of this pie, so keep that in mind when pairing fruits. To keep the crust edges and nutmeg top from burning, bake the pie in the center of the oven, if not slightly lower.
Ingredients
1 premade pie shell
2½ cups half-and-half
4 eggs
½ cup white sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
2 cups sliced frozen peaches
Ground nutmeg
Instructions
Press the premade pie shell into a pie dish. Dust the interior of the shell with ground nutmeg. Chill the crust for an hour. Then, arrange the frozen peaches inside the chilled pie shell. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan, scald the half-and-half (the liquid should be just steaming). In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. To this mixture, add a bit of the hot half-and-half—whisking constantly—in three to four parts to make the custard.
Once thoroughly mixed, pour the custard into the pie dish through a mesh sieve. Dust the top of the custard generously with ground nutmeg. Bake it for approximately 30 minutes (until a knife comes out clean from the center). Allow the pie to cool completely, then chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Raspberry Lime Pie
When the weather warms up, few flavors are as quenching as citrus, and here it’s in pie form. Red, blush, or blonde raspberries each lend a unique tinge of color to this composition—gladly use whatever is in season. Just don’t plan to throw this recipe together on a whim because it is best served well-chilled. The finished product does keep beautifully in the fridge for a few days, making it a great make-ahead option that will surely wow any crowd.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
1 sleeve graham crackers (finely crushed)
½ cup brown sugar
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
Raspberry Lime Filling
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup cream
4 egg yolks
½ cup lime juice
1 lime
1 small box of fresh raspberries
Whipped cream
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a pie dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter. In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the finely crushed graham crackers with the brown sugar and melted butter. The mixture should resemble wet sand. Press it into the prepared pie dish. Par-bake the crust for 15 minutes.
For the raspberry lime filling, begin by zesting the lime. Puree half of the raspberries. Separate the eggs. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, cream, egg yolks, key lime juice, lime zest, and pureed raspberries. Pour into the prepared crust, keep the crust edges covered, and bake for 30 minutes (until the center no longer jiggles when shaken).
Allow the pie to cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Finish with dollops of whipped cream topped with fresh raspberries.
Editorial Director Lauren Barisic
Photographer Don Dizon
Don Dizon
Photographer
Don is a portrait and still-life photographer based on Fresno, California. He was a nursing major from Fresno City College, and while waiting to get in the nursing program, he continued to take photography classes. There he fell completely in love with photography. Capturing the right moment only takes one shot. But it is much more than that! You need to have the right lighting, angle, and expression to get the perfect photograph. Over the years, Don has mastered the art of capturing the moment.
