dinner at eight :: simply dessert

{Dinner at Eight is a special project I am doing with my friend Rebekah this year - planning date nights at home for our husbands every other week, putting the kids to bed early and being intentional about our marriages! Read more Dinner at Eight posts HERE!}

I am so glad that last week Rebekah and I planned something really simple for Dinner at Eight. Both her and I have had a crazy busy month so far, and I don't think either of us would have been able to pull off a fancy date very easily this time around!

When we decided to do a dessert based date, I immediately knew what I wanted to make for Erik. Banana Cream Pie. It is one of his very favorite desserts, yet I never make it for him. I had a huge failure the first time I tried to make it two years ago and have been too scared to try it again.

Here's the story: I whipped the heavy whipping cream too long in my Kitchen Aid and it turned into butter! My mama was so right when she said that all it takes is turning your head away from the mixer for one second. Then to make matters worse, because I was so short on time and couldn't run to the store to buy more cream, I tried to make the whipped cream/butter work anyway! Gross. I still can't believe I did that. Erik was so sweet about the whole thing. When I asked him how it tasted, he said, "Well, it tastes good, but it has a really strange texture..." That's when I confessed that he was eating banana flavored butter and I promised to not make it again anytime soon.

But it has been TWO years and Erik's birthday was on the day of our planned date night, so I decided to give Banana Cream Pie another shot. With a different recipe and as much confidence as I could muster, I shooed my little ones outside to play and set to work making my husband's favorite dessert.

And I am pleased to say that it turned out amazing ! Not only was it delicious, but Erik was pleasantly surprised when I pulled it out of the fridge after the kids had gone to bed. He hadn't even known that I had been planning a special little date for us in honor of his birthday. And best of all, he had completely forgotten about the butter incident; when I asked him about it, he didn't even know what I was talking about! We ended up having a really sweet date. And Banana Cream Pie? A complete success!

P.S. Don't forget to check out Rebekah's date with Chris!

P.P.S. Rebekah and I have both gotten quite a bit of feedback about Dinner at Eight through comments + emails and there has been quite a bit of interest from other ladies who would like to join our Dinner at Eight challenge and bless their husbands. Both Rebekah and I feel so encouraged and excited about that! We believe so strongly that God wants to do incredible things in all of our marriages. And our two marriages have definitely seen the fruit of these intentional dates over the past six months. We are currently planning to open up the challenge to all of you starting in July. I truly hope that you will consider joining us and seeing how God will use Dinner at Eight dates to revolutionize your marriages. More details to come soon!

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BANANA CREAM PIE

Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook 

THE CRUST: 

(I would love to try this with a homemade crust someday, but I didn't have time this week)

one refrigerated pie crust (at room temperature)

graham cracker crumbs (I crushed up 3 graham crackers)

Preset your oven to 375 degrees.

Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on the surface where you are planning to roll out your dough (like you would with flour). 

Roll the pie dough over the crumbs, adding more and flipping sides as needed. 

Place the dough in a buttered pie plate and form the crust. But be careful- it is super fragile!

Prick the dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming while it is baking.

Cover the dough with foil (to prevent it from browning too quickly) and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Set aside to cool. 

THE FILLING:

1/2 c. plus 2 T. sugar

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

5 large egg yokes

2 c. whole milk

1/2 c. evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 T. unsalted butter

2 ripe bananas, sliced thin

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan. 

Whisk in the egg yolks, then immediately, but gradually whisk in the milk and evaporated milk.

Add the vanilla.

Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently, then cook for 1 minute until the mixture is thick and smooth. 

Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter.

Pour the filling into a shallow pan. 

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap to the surface of the filing to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool at room temperature until just warm, about 30 minutes.

Pour half of the warm filling into the baked, cooled pie crust.

Place the sliced bananas on top of the filling.

Pour the remaining filling on top of the bananas and again lay a sheet of plastic wrap flush to the surface of the filling. 

Refrigerate the pie until completely chilled, about 4 hours.

THE TOPPING: 

1 c. heavy whipping cream, chilled

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Just before serving, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. 

Spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie. 

Top with more sliced bananas. 

(The pie, without the topping, can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 day. The cream can be whipped and refrigerated separately from the pie, wrapped tightly in plastic warp, for up to 2 hours.)