Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie

BAKED Sunday Morning

After making the double chocolate and banana tart for French Fridays with Dorie, I was a little hesitant about making another banana dessert that uses citrus to keep the bananas from turning black. This recipe uses orange juice instead of lemon juice and the flavor all but disappeared. 

What I had to do for this recipe was find a substitution for my favorite Nabisco Vanilla wafers because after reading the label on the box I saw that they have high fructose corn syrup. Have they always had it and I just didn't pay attention? Somehow I don't think so. Anyway, I have to read labels these days because the instant I eat anything with HFS I break out across the bridge of my nose. It's annoying and not very attractive, plus it makes me wonder that if I have an instant reaction to something that I am eating then it most likely is not good for me. My family now jokes that I am a human barometer for high fructose corn syrup. It took me awhile to find these 'natural' vanilla wafers in the cookie aisle. I was amazed at how many cookies have high fructose corn syrup in them.

These wafers taste really good with the vanilla bean and I thought they would complement the pudding part of this dessert because it also has vanilla bean. When I make this again, however, I will cut down on the amount of sugar for the crust because these cookies are much sweeter than the Nabisco wafers and much crispier. If you break this recipe down into steps and do the crust, it doesn't really take that long to make because you can make the pudding while your crust is cooling and then take off and do errands or clean the house while the pudding and crust are chilling in the fridge. The pudding is so creamy and delicious with the vanilla bean! I also really, really like the peanut butter topping and licked the mixer bowl clean afterwards. So very tasty. The top of the pie needed something and bananas were optional so I decided to skip those and decided to drizzle the top with some chocolate. Thank you for the inspiration, Kris!

What you end up with is a delicious dessert that has a layer of cookie, vanilla bean pudding, bananas, and peanut butter cream with a little bit of chocolate. This is a perfect dessert, especially for the summer because you eat it when the pie is nice and chilled. This photo was taken after 3 hours in the fridge, but I put it back in and we had some more later and it was firmer and just as good. It's like eating a childhood favorite of banana pudding with cookies and peanut butter. Check out the rest of the group's pies over at BAKED Sunday Mornings and get the recipe.

Frank's Fabulous Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I have been collecting recipes since I was a young girl, and I have to say that my very favorite recipes are the ones collected from family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. These are the recipes that have been tested again and again in home kitchens and most often have been passed from generation to generation.

This cake recipe is one of those recipes and came from my mom and dad's neighbor whose husband was a fantastic home baker. I made Frank's cake for my brother-in-law's birthday yesterday. The cocoa cake is light and moist, and the frosting - well, the frosting is unlike any other with the combination of cream cheese and peanut butter. 

This is a perfect cake to make for the peanut butter chocolate lover in your life. The cake disappeared in no time, but luckily I managed to save the last piece for the birthday boy to take home with him. 

Frank's Fabulous Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Cocoa Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1-3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)

1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/3 cup water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 round 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and add this mixture alternately with the water to the butter and sugar mixture. Pour batter into pans and bake 35 to 40 minutes for 8-inch pans or 30 to 35 minutes for 9-inch pans. Toothpick inserted into center of cake should come out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then cool completely before frosting.

Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream peanut butter, cream cheese, and butter together. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until creamy. Add vanilla. If frosting seems a little too thick, add about 5 drops of water. It should spread easily.

This cake must be kept in the refrigerator if it lasts that long! The frosting has a tendency to get too soft at room temperature.