Banana Cream Pie

• Have a baked and cooled blind baked pie crust. We use our recipe linked below, but bake any pie crust in an 8" tart shell with a removal bottom at 375 degrees fahrenheit. For the first 20 minutes, cover the pie crust with a piece of parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans inside. After 20 minutes remove the beans and paper and bake for 15-20 more minutes or until golden brown.
  
• Have a half cup of room temperature sea salt caramel, we use our recipe linked below.

Pastry Cream:

• Set aside a bowl to cool the pastry cream with a fine-mesh sieve on top
• In another bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Set aside the mixture
• In a saucepan, pour in the milk and the vanilla bean paste. Add the salt and mix. Place the mixture on medium-high heat until just under a boil. Be sure to stir the mixture occasionally to ensure the milk solids do not stick to the bottom of the pan
• When the milk is warmed, add 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to ensure the eggs do not cook. After it is combined, pour the egg-milk mixture back into the remaining ⅔ of the hot milk. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture is as thick as lightly whipped cream. It should just come just barely to a boil – be sure not to let it get beyond this as the cream will curdle. Remove from the heat and immediately pour through the sieve into the bowl. Do not leave the pastry cream in the bowl as it will continue to cook.
• Let the cream cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the pastry cream reaches 140 degrees F, mix in the butter one piece at a time. Stir until smooth before adding the next piece of butter
  
• Cool the pastry cream by tightly covering a bowl with plastic wrap. The plastic should press onto the pastry cream to keep it from developing a skin. After wrapping, place in the refrigerator to chill. Do not whisk the cream once it is chilled as it will break down the cream.

Assembly:

• In a glass or microwave safe bowl, melt the 3 ounces of chocolate. We do this in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds to ensure the chocolate melts evenly.
• After the chocolate is fully melted, spread the melted chocolate across the tart shell to form an even layer and cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  
• While the chocolate is hardening in the fridge, whip the cream, vanilla and sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until medium peaks form (just before it starts to get too stiff but the cream holds a peak).
• Remove the crust from the fridge and spread the caramel on the bottom, over the chocolate in a thin even layer.
  
• After the caramel is spread evenly, place the sliced bananas across the bottom in an even layer or two. We like to place them close together across the bottom in one even layer and then create a second layer as needed.
  
• After the bananas are in an even layer across the bottom, add in the pastry cream and spread to form an even layer. Add the whipped cream on top and use a spatula to even out the cream. Place the pie in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.