“I Can’t Believe I Get to See My Baby on Friday” Pie Recipe [and Story!]
Pictured: while we lived in Spain I made the pie crust from scratch because ready-made Keebler crusts were not available. You can do this too, but I actually prefer the Keebler!
For the past 18 years (yes, we are that old), I have made Banana Caramel Chocolate Pie to welcome my husband home every time he returns from a long TDY or deployment. The tradition started in 2007, when he was stationed at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, TX doing pilot training and I was living in California. We had just seen the movie Waitress with Kerri Russell. In the movie, Russell’s character’s job includes creating inventive pies with titles inspired by her life, such as the "Bad Baby Pie" she invents after her unintended pregnancy is confirmed. After seeing the movie and knowing we would be reunited the following Friday, I told G I wanted to make “I Can’t Believe I Get to See My Baby on Friday” Pie. G suggested that it should have banana, caramel, and chocolate in it, so I Googled that combination and found a recipe online. And so the pie was born!
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Keebler graham cracker crust
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 2/3 cup chilled heavy cream
1 teaspoon corn sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
[measure with your heart ~ 3/4 cup] Semisweet chocolate chips (I love Guittard brand)
4 firm ripe bananas
1/4 cup powdered sugar
For garnish: a 3 oz dark chocolate bar that you will shave using a veggie peeler straight onto the pie
1. In a dry heavy 3-quart saucepan, cook granulated sugar over moderate heat, stirring with wire whisk, until melted. Cook while swirling pan until it turns golden caramel.
2. Add corn syrup and biol over moderate heat, stirring until combined well. Add 2/3 cup cream (caramel will steam and harden) and boil, stirring occassionally, until a food thermometer registers 210 F.
3. Stir cornstarch mixture and stir into caramel. Boil caramel, stirring constanty, for 1 minute and remove pan from heat.
4. When caramel stops bubbling, stir in vanilla extract and pour into graham cracker shell. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over hot caramel and let cool on counter completely. Pie may be prepped up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled in fridge after completely cool, covered.
5. Peel bananas and slice thin. Arrange evenly over the chocolate layer.
6. In a bowl beat cup of cream until thick and beat in powdered sugar. Beat cream until it holds stiff peaks and spread over the bananas.
7. Garnish with chocolate shavings - I just use the peeler and shave the chocolate bar directly over the pie. Chill for at least 30 min in the freezer (though honestly I usually just chill in fridge overnight!)
Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you try it in the comments.
