How to Make Tartine’s Banana Cream Pie

Make Tartine’s famous banana cream pies at home – layers of rich pastry cream, luscious caramel, and fresh bananas, all nestled in crisp tart shells and topped with fluffy whipped cream. Delicious!

I always serve a Banana Cream Tart (recipe from bakery par excellence, Tartine, in San Francisco) at holiday meals and it usually ends up being everyone’s favorite part of dinner.

It’s a lengthy recipe with several components. There’s the tart dough, the pastry cream, the caramel sauce, and then… the assembly. But what you need to know is, you do not have to do this in one day. The caramel sauce will keep for many days in your refrigerator. The pastry cream can also be made ahead of time. I made mine the day before New Years, and just used the last bit of it today… three days later. And the tart dough… make it days or weeks ahead and freeze until needed… simple!

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How to Make Tartine’s Caramel Banana Cream Pie

1. Prepare the Pastry Cream

• Heat the Milk: In a heavy saucepan, combine milk with the seeds scraped from half a vanilla bean and salt. Heat over medium-high until it’s just below boiling.
• Mix Cornstarch and Sugar with Eggs: In a separate bowl, whisk together cornstarch and sugar, then add eggs and whisk until smooth.
• Temper the Eggs: Slowly add one-third of the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Then, pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.
• Thicken: Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously until thickened to the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Avoid overcooking.
• Strain and Cool: Remove from heat and strain through a sieve. Stir in butter piece by piece until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap on the surface and chill.

2. Make the Caramel

• Warm the Cream: Heat the cream and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan until just below boiling. Keep warm.
• Cook Sugar Syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, salt, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and cook until amber, 5-8 minutes.
• Add Cream Carefully: Remove from heat and slowly add warm cream; it will bubble vigorously. Whisk until smooth, then add lemon juice and butter, whisking until combined. Let cool.

3. Prepare the Tart Dough

• Mix Dry Ingredients: In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter cubes and pulse until pea-sized.
• Add Egg and Chill: Add egg and pulse until dough just begins to come together. Shape into a disk, wrap, and chill for 2 hours.
• Roll and Bake: Roll out dough and press into mini tart pans. Chill for 30 minutes, line with foil and weights, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove weights halfway through.

4. Assemble the Mini Pies

• Chocolate Layer: Melt chopped chocolate and spread a thin layer over each cooled mini tart shell. Chill for 5 minutes to set.
• Add Caramel: Drizzle a small amount of caramel over the chocolate layer in each tart shell.
• Add Pastry Cream and Bananas: Spoon chilled pastry cream into each tart shell, then arrange banana slices over the pastry cream.
• Whip Cream and Garnish: Whip heavy cream with sugar until medium peaks form. Spread over the bananas and top with chocolate curls if desired.

5. Chill and Serve

• Chill the mini pies for at least 2 hours to set. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving to soften slightly.

Recipe Notes

• Making Chocolate Curls: Slightly warm a chocolate bar and use a vegetable peeler to make curls.
• Caramel Storage: Caramel keeps for up to a month in the fridge.
• Avoid Over-Whisking Pastry Cream: Stirring chilled pastry cream can thin it out, so avoid re-whisking before using.

How to Make Tartine’s Caramel Banana Cream Pie

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• Author: Tartine
• Total Time: 2 hours plus chilling time
• Yield: 1 tart 1x

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Description

Make Tartine’s famous banana cream pies – layers of rich pastry cream, luscious caramel, and fresh bananas, all nestled in crisp tart shells and topped with fluffy whipped cream. Delicious!

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Ingredients

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For the Tart Shells

• 1 batch of tart dough (see recipe below), rolled out and fitted into mini tart pans (about 4-inch diameter each)

Chocolate Layer

• 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (approximately 1/3 oz per mini tart)

Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy cream, very cold
• 2 tbsp sugar

Caramel Layer

• 1/3 cup caramel (recipe below), divided among the mini tarts

Pastry Cream Layer

• 2 1/2 cups cold pastry cream (recipe below), distributed among the mini tarts

Bananas and Garnish

• 2 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 3 oz bittersweet chocolate bar, for making curls (optional)

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Tart Dough (for Mini Tarts)

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 10 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 large egg

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Pastry Cream

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

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Caramel

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 vanilla bean
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 3/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

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Instructions

1. Prepare the Pastry Cream

• Heat the Milk: In a heavy saucepan, combine milk with the seeds scraped from half a vanilla bean and salt. Heat over medium-high until it’s just below boiling.
• Mix Cornstarch and Sugar with Eggs: In a separate bowl, whisk together cornstarch and sugar, then add eggs and whisk until smooth.
• Temper the Eggs: Slowly add one-third of the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Then, pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.
• Thicken: Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously until thickened to the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Avoid overcooking.
• Strain and Cool: Remove from heat and strain through a sieve. Stir in butter piece by piece until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap on the surface and chill.

2. Make the Caramel

• Warm the Cream: Heat the cream and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan until just below boiling. Keep warm.
• Cook Sugar Syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, salt, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and cook until amber, 5-8 minutes.
• Add Cream Carefully: Remove from heat and slowly add warm cream; it will bubble vigorously. Whisk until smooth, then add lemon juice and butter, whisking until combined. Let cool.

3. Prepare the Tart Dough

• Mix Dry Ingredients: In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter cubes and pulse until pea-sized.
• Add Egg and Chill: Add egg and pulse until dough just begins to come together. Shape into a disk, wrap, and chill for 2 hours.
• Roll and Bake: Roll out dough and press into mini tart pans. Chill for 30 minutes, line with foil and weights, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove weights halfway through.

4. Assemble the Mini Pies

• Chocolate Layer: Melt chopped chocolate and spread a thin layer over each cooled mini tart shell. Chill for 5 minutes to set.
• Add Caramel: Drizzle a small amount of caramel over the chocolate layer in each tart shell.
• Add Pastry Cream and Bananas: Spoon chilled pastry cream into each tart shell, then arrange banana slices over the pastry cream.
• Whip Cream and Garnish: Whip heavy cream with sugar until medium peaks form. Spread over the bananas and top with chocolate curls if desired.

5. Chill and Serve

• Chill the mini pies for at least 2 hours to set. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving to soften slightly.

Notes

Chocolate Curls: Use a slightly warmed chocolate bar and a vegetable peeler to make curls.

Caramel Tips: Caramel can be stored for up to a month in the refrigerator.

Avoid Whisking Cold Pastry Cream: Once chilled, do not whisk pastry cream as it may thin out.

• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Dessert, Baking
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: French American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 mini pie
• Calories: 350
• Sugar: 24g
• Sodium: 150mg
• Fat: 23g
• Saturated Fat: 14g
• Unsaturated Fat: 9g
• Carbohydrates: 32g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 70mg