guest post: Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Fudge Sauce

My lovely sis wrote this post for me, knowing I had a crazy few weeks and wouldn't have time to bake and post something myself...

Banana, peanut butter and chocolate together in any form is the key to Caroline’s heart. Hence, this recipe (for my sweet little sister, in honor of her birthday last week): Peanut butter banana cream pie with fudge sauce. It is by far one of the best B,PB,C combinations out there. Another one I have yet to try: thick-sliced banana bite topped with a spread of peanut butter, then frozen, then dipped in chocolate. Yes? But that’s for another time.

Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Fudge Sauce
-adapted from Southern Pies, by Nancie McDermott

Pre-baked piecrust for 9-inch pie, cooled.

For Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons milk
3 cups heavy cream, divided
3-4 bananas, sliced
¼ cup granulated sugar

For Fudge Sauce:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
½ teaspoon vanilla

To make the filling:

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and milk. Beat on med-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.

In another large bowl, beat 2 cups cream until it thickens and holds firm peaks. Add the whipped cream to the peanut butter mixture and fold gently to combine evenly into a smooth, thick filling. Add the sliced bananas, mixing gently, and then pour the filling into the baked piecrust. Smooth out the filling, mounding it up into a nice peak in the center of the pie. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

To make the Fudge Sauce:

Combine the half-and-half, sugars, and butter over med-low heat. Cook, stirring often, to melt the butter and dissolve the sugars into a smooth sauce. Add the chocolate chips and stir constantly just until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and cool to room temperature.

**When ready to serve, combine the remaining 1 cup cream with ¼ cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Beat on high speed until the cream holds firm peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the chilled pie, and cut into 8 slices; arrange on plate. Drizzle (or pour) fudge sauce over top of each piece of pie.

cinnamon chocolate mousse pie

This last Saturday, I entered a food contest called Füd Feud, in the dessert category. I wanted to re-make this Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie but doctor it up a little bit. So I re-worked the recipe and came up with something I'm REALLY happy with. It's richer, more decadent, and even more legit. So legit, in fact, that it won the Taster's Choice award for the dessert category! I'm so pleased! Thanks to my helpers and tasters and supporters. It was a fun experience! So, if you feel like knocking anyone's socks off anytime soon, maybe try out this recipe. It makes one large pie, or five smaller 5" pies (with some leftover cream, which goes great with strawberries, bee tee dub).

 Finished pie with chocolate shavings.

 Pre-baked shells.

 Yummy, slightly salty meringue.

 The baked meringue, painted with chocolate.

 Some serious chocolate mousse.

 Topped with cream.

All finished up.

 Ready for the contest!

Winnings!

Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie

5 5"-inch pre-baked pie crusts
2 eggs, separated
1/2 t. vinegar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup mascarpone
1 cup sugar
1 t. cinnamon
Chocolate shavings (optional)

Beat together egg whites, vinegar, and salt until stiff but not dry. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff. Spread meringue over bottom and up sides of pre-cooked pie shells. Bake in 325° oven for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside and cool. Melt chocolate chips with milk. Lightly beat egg yolks and whisk into chocolate mixture until well blended. Spread 4 T. of chocolate mixture over cooked meringue. Set aside the rest to chill. Beat together heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar and cinnamon until very thick. Divide cream into two portions. Fold one half into the chilled chocolate. Pour this mixture evenly over the chocolate painted pie crusts. Add the rest of the cinnamon cream on top. Top with chocolate shavings, if desired. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

key lime pie: guest post by big sis courtney walker

You may have noticed, if you've been reading this blog for very long, that I have a super rad family who is just as obsessed with food as I am. I've gotten many recipes over the years from my sisters and I keep pestering them to do some guest posts for me. Finally, one of them got worn down enough to hook a sister up! Courtney is the writer in the family and even published a novel—it's called On The Fringe and it's amazing! You should definitely read it. So here is her post (the photos were taken by her brother-in-law, Paul Walker—no, not THAT Paul Walker) so, check it out!

(Doesn't it look amazing???)

Caroline, my favorite little sister, has hinted/suggested (no bribing yet) many times over the past year that I do a guest post on her awesome baking blog. I happen to be a writer; though please don’t judge me. Normally I write young adult fiction with a lot of angst and super sticky situations in which only teenagers find themselves—not intros to recipes. Caroline is much better at this, I promise. However, I do love to bake as much as she does, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to help her out—plus, I need to start documenting some of the yummy things I make and eat too fast.

Sunday afternoon is my favorite baking day because after church and a big lunch/ dinner…I either want to nap or bake, depending on my mood. Sometimes both. Yesterday I managed a long nap and then woke up, ready to make whatever pie my kids suggested. Their vote? Key Lime Pie. I couldn’t argue with that —not only do I love it, but it is very quick and easy to make. So, I tweaked a few recipes, taking the best out of each one (which is what Caroline always does, right?). And this was the perfect, scrumptious result. Pictures included!!

Key Lime Pie with Chiffon Whipped Cream

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 325.
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix together and press into regular (not deep-dish) pie pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray just on the bottom. Press onto the sides and bottom of pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

For the filling (this is the easy part):

Preheat oven to 350.
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup sour cream
¾ cup key lime juice
grated lime zest from 1 lime

Mix above together in a bowl until smooth; pour into baked piecrust. Bake in oven for 8 minutes, or until pinhole bubbles burst the surface of the pie. Don’t over bake. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Place in fridge until ready to serve, even overnight, if needed.

For Chiffon Whipped Cream (prepare this right before serving):

2 egg whites

4 Tablespoons sugar, divided

sprinkle cream of tartar

1 ½ cups cold whipping cream

Whip egg whites until soft, about 2 minutes; then beat in 2 tablespoons sugar and cream of tartar until medium-stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In separate bowl, beat whipping cream with 2 tablespoons sugar until medium-stiff peaks form (don’t overbeat – just make sure it is stiff but still creamy). Fold egg whites into whipped cream and then spread over cooled pie.