Mini Mud Pies with Bruleed Bananas
I made this recipe as an entry into the Mini Pie Revolution contest. I came up with the ice cream recipe years ago, but I always knew I needed some kind of counterpoint to the intensity of the chocolate, coffee and bourbon flavors. The granola crusts work well for this, as do the bruleed bananas.
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ TB. white sugar
3 TB. honey
1 TB. Canola oil
¼ teaspoon vanilla
3 TB. butter, melted or at room temperature
(2) Mix together first six ingredients in a medium bowl and next three ingredients in a small bowl. Combine thoroughly.
(3) Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 30–40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until fragrant.
(4) Remove mixture and allow to cool slightly. It should become crunchy.
(5) Turn oven up to 325 degrees.
(6) Pulse oat mixture with butter into course meal in food processor. Press into mini pie crusts (I used silicone muffin cups, which work well) and bake 10–12 minutes, until crisp.
(7) Put pie crusts into the freezer. Do not remove yet from their cups. They will still be soft out of the oven, but they will firm up once frozen.
2/3 cup plus 3 TB. sugar
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 t. butter (optional; it mellows and blends the flavors. You might prefer the flavors more bold, though)
1 – 1 1/2 TB. bourbon (or blended whiskey) (to taste)
1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 t. instant coffee
1/8 t. salt
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70% cocoa), coarsely chopped
2/3 cup cocoa power, sifted
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1) In a heavy saucepan cook 3 TB. sugar, undisturbed, over moderate heat until it begins to cook. Tilt pan as it cooks to make sure all the sugar dissolves and cook until deep golden brown.
2) Add cream and 2/3 cup milk to caramel mixture and combine well with a whisk until caramel dissolves.
3) Add remaining milk and cocoa, then whisk to combine. Heat gently.
4) Meanwhile, beat egg yolks with 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale.
5) When bubbles form around edges of caramel mixture, lower the mixing speed of the yolks and sugar. Gradually add all of the caramel mixture.
6) Pour back into the saucepan, add chocolate and optional butter, then cook until mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 175–180 degrees Fahrenheit.
7) Transfer mixture to a bowl and, once slightly cooled, add remaining ingredients (whiskey, vanilla, salt and instant coffee). Chill.
Freeze in your ice cream maker.
9) Put into prepared pie crusts and freeze.
To serve
1–2 yellow bananas, sliced
sugar
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 TB. heavy cream
(2) Coat one side of banana slices with sugar. Put sugar-coated sides facing up on pies. Brule with torch, just allowing flame to touch bananas, until bananas are caramelized.
(3) Spoon ganache into a piping bag (or sandwich bag—first pour in and then cut corner), and make designs on top of the pies.
Notes: Some nice hardware for this recipe would include a food processor, a stand mixer, an instant read thermometer (or a whisk with a built-in thermometer), an ice cream maker, a brule torch and silicone muffin cups (or at least a muffin pan). None of these is absolutely necessary, though. You could make a full-size pie with this if you prefer, and the bananas would be fine uncooked. You can even supposedly make ice cream by putting a small metal bowl with your ice cream base inside a larger one, filling the large bowl with ice and salt, and stirring (about 30–40 minutes) until the base becomes ice cream.
I’d also recommend crowding bananas on the pies beyond what is shown in the picture. They taste really good on these pies, and the crowding helps protect the frozen ice cream from melting. You could even broil a full pie coated with bananas in the oven. The base mixture for the crust also makes a nice breakfast cereal, so you might want to make a double batch if it sounds good to you.
These look amazing! Thanks for joining the Mini Pie Revolution!
Ann
I was a little skeptical at first, but I think these little pies are super yummy! Thanks Benny!
Pssst! Go check the round-up over at The Mini Pie Headquarters!
Ann
Congratulations on winning the Mini Pie Revolution competition, Ben! Looks like yours is the Che of the mini pies…
These look sooooo good!