Banana cream pie and variations   Makes 1 (9-inch) pie, 6 to 8 servings   2 cups milk   5 egg yolks   1 cup granulated sugar   1/2 cup all-purpose flour   1 tablespoon vanilla extract   3 to 4 unbruised, not-too-ripe bananas (enough to make about 2 cups sliced banana)   One (9-inch) pie shell, baked and cooled   2 cups chilled whipping cream   1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)     Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Heat almost to boiling point. Keep hot.   Put the 5 egg yolks into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use regular egg beaters with a portable mixer). Beat at medium speed, gradually pouring in the cup of sugar. Raise speed to high and beat until mixture thickens and turns a very pale ivory color.   Beat in the flour. While still beating, gradually pour in the hot milk.   Pour and scrape contents of bowl back into saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk (or beating with a portable electric mixer). Scrape bottom of pan with a spatula frequently, to make sure mixture is not sticking and scorching. It will get lumpy, but smooth back out again. When mixture comes to boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, still stirring and scraping.   Remove from heat and beat in vanilla extract. Refrigerate until cold. (To prevent a skin from forming, top warm custard with small pieces of butter, or place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of custard.)   After pastry cream has chilled, slice the bananas and fold 2 cups of slices into the pastry cream. Turn into the pie shell and smooth the top.   In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, beat the whipping cream and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until just stiff. Spoon over top of pie, or pipe into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and cover pie with whipped cream stars. Refrigerate until ready to serve.   Variations:   Chocolate cream pie. Omit bananas and tablespoon of vanilla extract. Melt 3 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Cool slightly, then fold into warm pastry cream along with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Top finished pie with chocolate curls or a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa powder.   Raspberry cream pie. Omit bananas. Reduce vanilla extract to 2 teaspoons and add 2 tablespoons of Chambord or raspberry vodka (optional) to custard. Thaw 2 cups frozen, unsweetened raspberries in microwave. Drain to remove excess liquid, then fold into cooled pastry cream.   Strawberry cream pie. Follow instructions for raspberry cream pie, but omit liqueur or vodka. You can also add 2 tablespoons of Cointreau or Grand Marnier for a strawberry-orange cream pie.   Coffee cream pie. Omit bananas. Crush 3/4 cup of French or espresso roast coffee beans. Combine with 3 cups of milk and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing down to remove as much milk as possible. Measure 2 1/2 cups of coffee-flavored milk to make the custard. Cover top of pie with chocolate curls or espresso powder, or place a border of chocolate-covered espresso beans in whipped cream rosettes around edge of pie.   Apricot cream pie. Omit bananas. Drain a 550-gram jar of apricot compote and roughly chop the apricots. Fold into custard. (Look for apricot compote at specialty-food stores or order from The Baker's Catalogue at shop.bakerscatalogue.com online. You could also use plain canned apricots, but the imported compote usually has better flavor.)   - Rebecca Boren     Triple coconut cream pie   Makes 1 (9-inch) pie, 6 to 8 servings   For the coconut pastry cream   2 cups milk   2 cups sweetened shredded coconut   1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise   2 large eggs   1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar   3 tablespoons all-purpose flour   1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened   For the pie   1 (9-inch) coconut pie shell (see at right), prebaked and cooled   2 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled   1/3 cup sugar   1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract   For garnish   2 ounces unsweetened "chip" or large-shred coconut   Chunks of white chocolate (4 to 6 ounces, to make 2 ounces of curls)   To make the pastry cream, combine the milk and coconut in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and pod to the milk mixture. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil.   In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and flour until well-combined. Temper the eggs (to keep them from scrambling) by pouring a small amount (about 1/3 cup) of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Remove and discard the vanilla pod. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming, and refrigerate until cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools.   When the pastry cream is cold, fill the prebaked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface. In an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase the speed to high, and whip to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream, and pipe it all over the surface of the pie, or spoon it over.   For the garnish, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut chips on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, watching carefully and stirring once or twice, since coconut burns easily, until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape about 2 ounces of the white chocolate into curls. Decorate each piece of pie with the toasted coconut and white chocolate curls just before serving.     Coconut pie shell   1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour   1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut   1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice   2 teaspoons sugar   1/4 teaspoon kosher salt   1/3 cup ice water, or more as needed   In a food processor, combine the flour, coconut, diced butter, sugar and salt. Pulse to form coarse crumbs, gradually adding the water a tablespoon at a time. Use only as much water as is needed to hold the dough together when gently pressed between your fingers. The dough will not form a ball or even clump in the processor.   Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the dough onto it. Pull the plastic wrap around the dough, forcing it into a rough flattened round. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour before rolling.   Unwrap the round of dough and put it on a lightly floured work board. Flour the rolling pin and your hands. Roll the dough out into a circle about 1/8 -inch thick. Add more flour if it seems to stick. Trim to a 12- to 13-inch circle.   Ease the rolled dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Don't stretch the dough at this point because it will shrink when it is baked. Trim any excess to a 1- to 1 1/2-inch overhang. Turn the dough under along the rim of the pie pan and use your finger to flute the edge. Chill the unbaked pie shell at least an hour before baking.   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper in the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crust until the pastry rim is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pie pan from the oven. Remove the foil and beans and return the crust to the oven. Bake until the bottom of the crust has golden-brown patches, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before filling.   - From: "Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen" by Tom Douglas with Denis Kelly, Shelley Lance and Duskie Estes (HarperCollins, 2001)

A heavenly cream pie can be literally worth its weight in gold. Ask Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas, who has built a food empire on top of a really good one. When Douglas and his wife, Jackie Cross, opened the Dahlia Lounge in 1989, his old-fashioned Triple Coconut Cream Pie anchored the dessert menu. Today, four top-rated restaurants, a bakery, an award-winning cookbook, a line of kitchen products and a catering business later, the pie is still a hit. "It's still our best seller 16 years into it, 75 pies a day," Douglas said via e-mail from Seattle. Autumn and the holiday season in general call out for pies - pumpkin, apple, pecan and all the rest. Rich with cream, luscious with pudding, sometimes packed full of fruit, cream pies deserve their place at the holiday table, too. But because pies made with real cream are expensive and highly perishable, chances are you will need to special-order them or make them yourself. We've snagged the recipe for Douglas' famous pie, as well as instructions for transforming a simple pastry cream or pudding into a half-dozen flavors of cream pie, from the classic banana to a rich chocolate. Cream pies are flexible that way. Soon you will find yourself experimenting with different fruits and flavorings to make your own culinary star attraction. Consider Almond Joy pie - that's an almond-coconut cream pie made at the Bread & Butter Café, 4231 E. 22nd St. Or how about a Mississippi Mud Pie from Abygail's Fine Bakery and Café, in St. Philip's Plaza, 4380 N. Campbell Ave.? That's a chocolate cream pie laden with crushed Oreo cookies and pieces of chocolate-covered toffee, then topped with chocolate whipped cream. "I'll make about any kind of pie," said Suzie Ruhl Olasin, owner/chef at the 9-month-old Abygail's. "If you have a recipe and I don't, I'll make it from yours." Olasin also built her eatery on pies, although fruit pies are her biggest draw. A lifelong home baker, she began baking pies to sell as a distraction from serious illness. After seven years of selling at local farmers markets, Olasin and daughter-operator Jamie Marie Solomon opened Abygail's last winter. Her cream pies ($18 to $25) must be ordered a day in advance, although she hopes to build enough business to start offering them in the bakery case sometime this winter. The cream pie deliciously combines three elements that are in themselves simple, but together make something really wonderful. The pie crust

 

You can have your choice of doughs. Olasin and Douglas both use a butter crust à la French pastry making, instead of the shortening or lard crust more common in American cookery. Their coconut pies also have coconut in the pastry itself. But the wildly popular diner-style pies at the Bread & Butter feature a classic shortening crust. Café owner Mike Rohwer won't give out the recipe. But he does say the secret ingredients that make it really flaky are vinegar and ice water. Add 1 teaspoon of white or cider vinegar per 1 1/2 cups of flour. Reduce other liquid in pie crust recipe accordingly. For any of these cream pies, you will bake an empty pie shell, although you can also use a graham cracker crust. The main challenge is to keep a pastry crust from shrinking or collapsing. To prevent shrinkage, be sure to give the dough ample time to chill and relax in the refrigerator or freezer, both after mixing the dough and after you form it into a pie shell. To avoid collapse, prick the raw shell all over with a fork, then weight the interior of the shell with something while it bakes - either the classic foil topped with dried beans or pastry weights, or another, equal-size pie pan, buttered on the bottom. Remove for the last few minutes of cooking, so bottom of crust will lightly brown. The pudding

 

The base of your filling can be either a classic French pastry cream, which is thickened with flour, or an all-American cornstarch-thickened pudding. Douglas and Olasin use flour; Rohwer uses cornstarch. If you want to get really fancy, use a favorite mousse recipe, whether chocolate or lemon or some other flavor. The amount of filling you use is flexible - chances are you will have some left over if you use the accompanying pastry cream recipe. You can always chill the dessert until set, then add more pudding on top. Or spoon leftover filling into individual serving dishes, chill, and you have pudding to offer those who might otherwise sneak into the finished pie. The whipped cream

 

The topping is the chief reason bakery cream pies using real cream can be hard to come by. Real whipped cream is highly perishable, and it soon begins to weep liquid onto the filling. And health inspectors tend to frown on milk and egg products sitting in bakery cases for more than a day. Rohwer gets around the problem by using a nondairy product that whips into a creamlike topping. You can also: Use powdered sugar to sweeten the cream (the cornstarch in the powdered sugar helps stabilize it), or a little cream of tartar, like Olasin does. You can ask the bakery to give you the whipped cream for a custom-made pie separately, to add just before serving (discard the liquid that accumulates in the cream container). Similarly, you can wait until the last minute to top your own creation with its mound of rich cream. Keep already-whipped cream well-chilled and, if possible, set in a sieve over a bowl to catch the drips while it waits. Don't like whipped cream? Any of these pies can be served plain, or with cream on the side. Or you can spread a simple meringue on top of a chilled pudding pie and brown it quickly in a hot oven. Banana cream pie and variations Makes 1 (9-inch) pie, 6 to 8 servings 2 cups milk 5 egg yolks 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 3 to 4 unbruised, not-too-ripe bananas (enough to make about 2 cups sliced banana) One (9-inch) pie shell, baked and cooled 2 cups chilled whipping cream 1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional) Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Heat almost to boiling point. Keep hot. Put the 5 egg yolks into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use regular egg beaters with a portable mixer). Beat at medium speed, gradually pouring in the cup of sugar. Raise speed to high and beat until mixture thickens and turns a very pale ivory color. Beat in the flour. While still beating, gradually pour in the hot milk. Pour and scrape contents of bowl back into saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk (or beating with a portable electric mixer). Scrape bottom of pan with a spatula frequently, to make sure mixture is not sticking and scorching. It will get lumpy, but smooth back out again. When mixture comes to boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, still stirring and scraping. Remove from heat and beat in vanilla extract. Refrigerate until cold. (To prevent a skin from forming, top warm custard with small pieces of butter, or place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of custard.) After pastry cream has chilled, slice the bananas and fold 2 cups of slices into the pastry cream. Turn into the pie shell and smooth the top. In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, beat the whipping cream and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until just stiff. Spoon over top of pie, or pipe into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and cover pie with whipped cream stars. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Variations:

 

Chocolate cream pie. Omit bananas and tablespoon of vanilla extract. Melt 3 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Cool slightly, then fold into warm pastry cream along with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Top finished pie with chocolate curls or a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa powder. Raspberry cream pie. Omit bananas. Reduce vanilla extract to 2 teaspoons and add 2 tablespoons of Chambord or raspberry vodka (optional) to custard. Thaw 2 cups frozen, unsweetened raspberries in microwave. Drain to remove excess liquid, then fold into cooled pastry cream. Strawberry cream pie. Follow instructions for raspberry cream pie, but omit liqueur or vodka. You can also add 2 tablespoons of Cointreau or Grand Marnier for a strawberry-orange cream pie. Coffee cream pie. Omit bananas. Crush 3/4 cup of French or espresso roast coffee beans. Combine with 3 cups of milk and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing down to remove as much milk as possible. Measure 2 1/2 cups of coffee-flavored milk to make the custard. Cover top of pie with chocolate curls or espresso powder, or place a border of chocolate-covered espresso beans in whipped cream rosettes around edge of pie. Apricot cream pie. Omit bananas. Drain a 550-gram jar of apricot compote and roughly chop the apricots. Fold into custard. (Look for apricot compote at specialty-food stores or order from The Baker's Catalogue at shop.bakerscatalogue.com online. You could also use plain canned apricots, but the imported compote usually has better flavor.) - Rebecca Boren

 

Triple coconut cream pie Makes 1 (9-inch) pie, 6 to 8 servings For the coconut pastry cream 2 cups milk 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise 2 large eggs 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened For the pie 1 (9-inch) coconut pie shell (see at right), prebaked and cooled 2 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract For garnish 2 ounces unsweetened "chip" or large-shred coconut Chunks of white chocolate (4 to 6 ounces, to make 2 ounces of curls) To make the pastry cream, combine the milk and coconut in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and pod to the milk mixture. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and flour until well-combined. Temper the eggs (to keep them from scrambling) by pouring a small amount (about 1/3 cup) of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Remove and discard the vanilla pod. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming, and refrigerate until cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools. When the pastry cream is cold, fill the prebaked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface. In an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase the speed to high, and whip to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream, and pipe it all over the surface of the pie, or spoon it over. For the garnish, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut chips on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, watching carefully and stirring once or twice, since coconut burns easily, until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape about 2 ounces of the white chocolate into curls. Decorate each piece of pie with the toasted coconut and white chocolate curls just before serving. Coconut pie shell 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice 2 teaspoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/3 cup ice water, or more as needed In a food processor, combine the flour, coconut, diced butter, sugar and salt. Pulse to form coarse crumbs, gradually adding the water a tablespoon at a time. Use only as much water as is needed to hold the dough together when gently pressed between your fingers. The dough will not form a ball or even clump in the processor. Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the dough onto it. Pull the plastic wrap around the dough, forcing it into a rough flattened round. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour before rolling. Unwrap the round of dough and put it on a lightly floured work board. Flour the rolling pin and your hands. Roll the dough out into a circle about 1/8 -inch thick. Add more flour if it seems to stick. Trim to a 12- to 13-inch circle. Ease the rolled dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Don't stretch the dough at this point because it will shrink when it is baked. Trim any excess to a 1- to 1 1/2-inch overhang. Turn the dough under along the rim of the pie pan and use your finger to flute the edge. Chill the unbaked pie shell at least an hour before baking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper in the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crust until the pastry rim is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pie pan from the oven. Remove the foil and beans and return the crust to the oven. Bake until the bottom of the crust has golden-brown patches, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before filling. - From: "Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen" by Tom Douglas with Denis Kelly, Shelley Lance and Duskie Estes (HarperCollins, 2001)