SECOND PLACE
Chocolate Banana Cream Tart By Elinor Nelson
Crust: 6 ounces chocolate wafer cookies, finely ground 4 ½ Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted 2 Tbsp. sugar 1/8 tsp. salt
Filling: About 1 ½ bananas, sliced in about ¼ inch disks, or enough to cover the bottom of the tart in a single layer 1 7/8 cups milk (the magazine said whole milk but I used 1% and it was fine) ½ cup sugar 3 egg yolks ¼ cup cornstarch ¼ tsp salt 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (or you can use 2/3 cup chocolate chips) 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1 tsp vanilla 2 Tbsp rum
Topping: 1 ¼ cup heavy cream 3 Tbsp confectioners sugar, or more or less to taste 1 tsp vanilla Chocolate balls, shavings, or sprinkles
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the crumb ingredients until moistened and press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake about 8 minutes, or until the crust is fragrant. Remove it from the oven and using the flat bottom of a glass, immediately press down all over the bottom of the tart to keep it flat. Let it cool completely. Once cool, place the banana slices evenly on the bottom, in a single layer.
2. In a medium saucepan heat the milk with ¼ cup sugar until it bubbles around the edges. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with ¼ cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly whisk in about ½ of the hot milk mixture, and then slowly pour back the egg/milk mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk, whisking constantly. Keep whisking, and cook over moderate heat for about three minutes, until very thick. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolates until smooth, and then whisk in the vanilla and rum.
3. This step isn’t essential, but it does make for a smoother custard: Strain the filling mixture into the crust using a coarse sieve, pushing it through with a rubber spatula. You’ll see that there are some little egg and cornstarch lumps that won’t go through, and the custard will be much nicer for it. But if a few lumps don’t bother you, just pour the custard right in. Press some plastic wrap on the top and chill for a few hours.
4. Whip the cream till stiff, adding the vanilla and confectioners sugar to taste. Keep in mind that the chocolate custard is sweet, so you’ll want to go easy on the sugar in the topping. You can spread it on top of the chocolate, or you can pipe it on using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Sprinkle on your garnish of choice.
