Nutella banana cream pie

Place mixing bowl in the fridge to chill while you make the custard.

Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, salt and 1/2 cup milk in a medium bowl.

In a medium pot, heat remaining cup of milk until barely simmering. Remove pot from heat and slowly pour warm milk into the bowl with the egg yolks while constantly whisking the yolk mixture.

Pour mixture back into pot and place over medium heat. Stir continuously, making sure to scrape along the bottom of the pot, until the custard comes to a gentle boil and becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, approximately four to six minutes.

Remove pot from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Slice one of the bananas and lay the slices in concentric circles in the baked pie crust. Pour the custard over the bananas, filling the crust halfway. Place the pie in the freezer to chill for at least 30 minutes. While the pie is chilling, make the Nutella cream.

Using the chilled mixing bowl, stir together the whipping cream and Nutella. Mix on high with the mixer’s paddle attachment until the cream becomes thick and holds soft peaks, approximately five to seven minutes.

Once the custard layer is no longer warm, place another layer of thin banana slices on the pie, then pour the Nutella cream on top of the bananas and custard and place in the fridge to set overnight.

For the topping, whip the cream and icing sugar together until it holds soft peaks. Top the pie with another layer of banana slices, spread the whipped cream on top and serve.

Tip: If your pie crust isn’t deep enough to hold all the custard and Nutella cream, chill the leftovers in a bowl and serve as a pudding topped with banana slices.

Stephanie Eddy, who writes about her baking exploits at clockworklemon.com, lives in Calgary.