Tuesday, May 25, 2010

TWD: Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

I love bananas. And ice cream. And coconut. So when I saw that Spike chose  Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie, I was happy. Even happier when I saw that I did not have to make the ice cream. That is something I wish to try at a later time. Right now, it seems like too much, especially when Blue Bell is on sale at every store within 10 miles of me! 

This recipe started off easy enough for me. 

Melt some butter and stir in some coconut until browned. Ahhh, coconut. So tropical. So exotic. Loved by some, hated by others. Then, pat this mixture into the BORROWED deep dish pie pan (Thanks, Dragana!).

All I had to do next was press the mixture into the pie pan and freeze it for 30 minutes. I had a WHOLE 30 minutes to get prepared for my filling, which contained this stuff. Again, thanks, to my awesome and talented friend, Dragana, who let me borrow the rum or else this would have been a whiskey ice cream pie.  And thanks to my newborn, Lilah, who let me at this point in time, finish my filling. 

 

Ah, you see it. The FAKE lemon juice. I know the recipe called for fresh, but I did not have any like I thought...and well, you know...
You also see the wonderful (not-very-ripe) bananas. Again, like coconut, either loved or hated. I LOVE them. 


Next, all I had to do was add thinly cut banana slices and place them on the frozen coconut crust. It is hard to keep cutting a banana straight across. I kept cutting in slants! 


Then, I had to add the filling on top (not pictured), cover with wrap, and freeze for four hours before serving. I used Nutter Crunch Ice Cream from Blue Bell. I thought it was going to be a chocolate peanut butter ice cream (I was in a rush picking it up), but it was vanilla with peanut butter and nuts. 
This is how it looked after four hours...


Yes, I have an overly ambitious freezer! After four hours, it managed to form a sheet of ice over my entire filling! To summarize my kitchen, my oven cooks 25 degrees over, my freezer loves to freezer burn everything, and the grill on my range is too loud for me to use, which leaves me with only two terrible electric burners to use! Yes, me. The girl who likes to create food art in her kitchen has a poor studio to work in (my hubby hears me complain about so often)! I do have awesome counter, cabinet, and island space, though! See I can see a silver lining, even though I am blind as a bat. I digress...Back to the pie.

Here is how it ended up looking:


Not, bad, after I added in the additional banana slices and chocolate chips. I did manage to cut a slice of this pie, but it was very difficult. I had to let the pie thaw out for about 20 minutes and it still was hard. Like I said, my freezer is a beast! I managed to taste a few bites before the baby started crying and could not taste much flavor. I think the freezer took care of that! I also did not use the ripest of bananas. Next time, I am pressed for time and can not use ripe, but firm, bananas as the recipe calls for, I am going to boost the filling with some banana extract. 

Of course, I was not able to take another picture of a pie slice. We did add chocolate sauce to the one slice we all tried. However, Ms. Baby Diva Lilah had other plans for me that did not involve thawing and cutting out another slice and posing it for a picture. My oldest daughter rewrapped the pie and threw it back in the freezer for me. If I can manage to cut another slice after some serious thawing, I may post that picture and see if the taste improves upon further thawing. 

If not, it is back to the cutting board! I love the crust and plan on using it again for other desserts. I also plan on making Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream that everyone is raving about on TWD. I just need to find another person who will help me use their ice cream machine and give it a go. 

Oh, Dragana....!

For the pie recipe go take a looksie at Spike's blog. His pie looks amazing! 

To see the other works of art, go to the TWD blogroll. You will be drooling at your seat. 

This is really an easy recipe to make. I highly recommend it. Just don't use my freezer.

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5 comments:

Leslie said...

With all you had to contend with, it's a miracle you got such a great looking pie out of it! Since cold dulls flavor, you pie might just need more thawing for its flavor to come out. I feel so sad that you have only two burners! You need one of those kitchen makeover shows to give you your dream kitchen.

If you like chocolate at all, you must make Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream. Life. Changing.

Flourchild said...

I loved the crust the most too. Your pie looks very good!

Dragana said...

You can use the ice cream maker any time. It was a gift from a fellow neighbor so I'd love to share it!

natalia said...

Ciao ! Wonderful pie ! Love the art work !

Anonymous said...

Yum! It sounds delicious with both banana and coconut!