Birthday Coconut Banana Cream Pie

Since my birthday is here, I knew I needed a birthday dessert.  I blame B, he told me I had to take time off to “relax and bake.” I had a ton of ripening bananas, so I wanted to remake this coconut banana cream pie recipe using my tart tins. 

I can’t believe it’s my first full weekend off in forever. What are weekends again?

Friday was supposed to be our last day on vascular surgery. However, the fellow on call wanted us come in this weekend anyway.

It was going to be a long final day since surgeries were scheduled til 7 pm (and surgeries are always running behind). While waiting for the last surgery in the student call room (basically a dorm with a bed, closet, and bathroom), my partner fell asleep on the bed with his feet propped up on the table, not even trying to hide his nap. I tried to study / not doze off as well. It was possible I might miss my own birthday dinner if a late add-on surgery case came up on Saturday.

And of course, the other fellow Dr. M just happens to coincidentally pop his head into our room (for the first time ever), asking what we were up to, and catches my partner sleeping like a baby. 

I told him how we were just waiting for the last case since the current case had a lot of radiation.

Dr. M: Just go home! 
Chef Uy: Eh? But the last case…
Dr. M: Nah, just go home! 
Chef Uy: But, but….we worked less than 12 hours today …  how can this be? O_o
Dr. M: Good luck with your next rotation and enjoy your free weekend. 
Chef Uy: … free… weekend? (Can you tell I’m in shock?)
Dr. M: You’ve had long hours, so get some sleep. Especially your napping partner over there.

Dr. M and I chatted for a bit about surgery as a career, and he gave some great advice. Afterwards, I dashed to back our student room, shook my partner violently (he was still passed out) and said we were done and had the weekend off. 

If your upper level says for you to go home and take the weekend off, you don’t ever question it. We split like those bananas in this pie.

(Recipe originally posted Sept 2010) 
Coconut Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie 
We had extra bananas that were really ripe, so I decided to make a banana cream pie. However this crust was too much for one pie tin so I decided to make two pies, one banana and one coconut. However, the recipe’s coconut filling was too sweet for me and there was a LOT of filling for one pie. I hadn’t made the banana filling yet, so I decided to combine both cream pies together. Thus, I ended up with this pie. Recipes modified from Bon Appetit and Joy the Baker.

Birthday Coconut Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients
CRUST:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
peanut butter (optional)

FILLING:
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs *
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut 
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

TOPPING:
1 banana, sliced
whipped cream
chocolate curls

Directions
To make the crust, stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together in a medium bowl until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. Add more butter if necessary. Make an even layer of crumbs of the bottom and up the sides of the pie or tart pan. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pie crust on the center rack of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set crust aside to cool. Optional step: Spread a layer of peanut butter onto the cooled crust.

For the filling, whisk sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and flour in medium bowl. Simmer milk, coconut milk, and shredded coconut in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Return combined mixture to the same saucepan; cook until pastry cream thickens and boils, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and mix in mashed bananas and vanilla extract. 

Transfer filling to crust. Cover and chill overnight (or freeze for several hours). Add sliced bananes, whipped cream, and chocolate curls on top when serving.

*note: for a richer pudding, use only yolks