- 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
- 6 egg yolks, beaten
- 5 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/4 cup sifted cornstarch
- 2 cups milk
- 1 vanilla bean, halved
- 2 tablespoons butter, diced
- 3 ounces white chocolate, melted
- 8 ripe bananas
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 pint whipping cream
- 1 fluid ounce white chocolate liqueur
- 1 fluid ounce banana liqueur
- 12 ounces white chocolate
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder, for garnish
- To Make White Chocolate Pastry Cream: In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in cornstarch. In a medium saucepan, heat milk and vanilla bean to just below the boiling point. Slowly whisk a small amount of hot milk into egg yolk mixture, then stir egg yolk mixture back into pan. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.
- Stir in butter, then strain mixture through a sieve. Place plastic wrap over the surface of mixture to keep a skin from forming. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in melted white chocolate. Chill pastry cream.
- Slice bananas and toss with the lemon juice to keep from discoloring. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whip chilled whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into pastry cream, then fold in bananas and liqueurs. Fill tart shell with banana cream filling.
- Top generously with white chocolate curls, then dust with cocoa. Serve soon after assembling so crust doesn't get soggy.
- To make white chocolate curls, carefully draw a vegetable peeler across the broad, flat surface of a room-temperature (about 80 degrees) chunk of white chocolate to make large, thin curls. Refrigerate until ready to use.