Banana lattice pie

Not yet rated

Don't let the complicated look of geometry put you off this recipe, once you've put that little extra effort in, the result is an accomplished pie (looking like you've spent ages doing it) to impress your friends or a loved one. Or just keep it to yourself, it may be too good to share.

First published in 2015

This is a pie for banana lovers, your kitchen will enjoy the sweet caramelised waft of sugar, bananas and vanilla amalgamating to make a delectable pureed filling for the pie. Topped off with a rustic lattice of shortcrust, it's a great accompaniment to that afternoon cuppa.

Its inspiration comes from the tropical island of Mauritius, where mini morsels of these pies sit amongst other treats in bakeries and sold by street vendors. But if we can't afford to daydream about being on the exotic island, this is an easy sure fire way of whipping up a slice of the pie. A perfect recipe for British Pie Week with a twist.

There are literally only four ingredients that go into this pie filling, simple as that. You can adapt the recipe to your liking, I have before added a pinch of cinnamon to the banana filling, or 2 tbsp desiccated coconut or even ground almonds into the shortcrust base to add a different dimension of flavour.

Working with shortcrust or pastry for that matter can be a little tricky, here you can use this basic shortcrust recipe if you're feeling a bit creative in the kitchen and getting those fingers involved. Or shop bought shortcrust is just fine to use.

Just remember these tips for easy handling of your pastry, bring your shortcrust to room temperature after its been the fridge as this will make it more pliable to work with. Treat the dough delicately when handling it, so you don't get those annoying tears or dents. And prick the base before blind baking (don't forget to do this part to avoid soggy bottoms) and ensure pastry is thoroughly cooked and golden!

This pie can be eaten cold or warm out the oven by itself, some cream or ice cream as a dessert.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

  • 500g of shortcrust pastry
  • 5 bananas, large, over-ripe, chopped
  • 1 vanilla pod, seeds extracted
  • 1/2 tsp mixed spice, ground
  • 50g of dark brown sugar
  • 20g of unsalted butter
  • 1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
2
Firstly roll out your pre-prepared, room temperature shortcrust pastry to larger than the size of your tin, using a rolling pin pick up the pastry and place over the tin
3
Using your fingers or an extra piece of dough gently tease the pastry into the tin and into the side grooves. Using the rolling pin, roll it over the finished tin to get rid of excess pastry. Keep that extra pastry in some clingfilm in the fridge till you do your lattice
4
Place a piece of parchment paper or clingfilm onto the pastry and fill with baking beads or rice. Blind bake for 20 minutes then remove the beads and paper and bake until the pastry is a light golden brown. This should take another 10 minutes
5
In a medium sized non stick saucepan, place the unsalted butter in till it melts on a medium heat. Add in the chopped bananas, vanilla seeds, dark brown sugar and mixed spice to the pan
6
Let this mixture cook for about 5 minutes, use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break up the bananas as they cook on the hob. You want a rustic pureed mixture
7
Once the mixture is cooked set aside for a few minutes. Then the blind baked shortcrust pastry tin, pour in the pureed banana mixture, smooth out with the back of a spoon to make sure the mix is even and up to the edges of the pastry
8
Time to make your lattice, take the remaining pastry from the fridge (make sure it comes to room temp so it's more pliable) then using a ruler and knife cut into long strips
9
Criss cross these strips over each other on the pie, without stretching too much, use your thumb to seal each strip against the edge of the tin and press off extra dough. Brush the lattice with egg wash and place back into the oven at the same temperature for about 30-40 minutes till golden. Serve warm or cold
First published in 2015

Selina Periampillai is a British-born Mauritian food pioneer, self-taught chef and author of The Island Kitchen.

Get in touch

Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.