Banana Cinnamon Pie

Okay, listen up because this is my best original dessert since the Taro Cloud Cake. I experimented making banana popovers with some extra phyllo dough last week. The popovers turned out pretty badly, they didn't stay together and didn't get crispy. However, the filling I used tasted amazing, and baked into a cake like constancy. This gave me the idea to make a phyllo crust pie out of it, and last night I made it happen. My inspiration was ban-offe pie, a toffee banana pie that is popular in England. But I wanted to make something simpler, with more cinnamon and less carmel. So I ended up with this wonderful recipe instead. I mashed banana's together with cinnamon, honey, and good quality caramel sauce. Literally, that is all that is in the pie filling. I then layer down a layer of phyllo in a pie pan for the crust, and poured my filling in (below left). It filled the pan about halfway. Next I covered the filling with a top layer of phyllo dough. The last touch was brushing egg unto the dough (see below right) so that it would get nice and brown as it baked (kudos to my mom for the suggestion!), I topped the egg with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Then I baked it for 20 minutes at 410F. 

The result was an amazing, beautiful pie with delicious crust! The cinnamon gives the pie a wonderful homey flavor and the honey and bananas make it sweet. The caramel is essential because it is what helps solidify the pie and give it the wonderful cake consistency. The crust was very yummy, the egg did wonders for it and the combination of flaky and crunchy crust really made a good pie great. Another wonderful thing was how well this dessert stayed together. After the popover fiasco I was worried it would come apart when I cut it, but this wasn't the case at all. The pieces held their shape remarkably well (see top photo). This is definitely something that I would serve to guests. Actually, it's a wonderful dessert to bring to a party or potluck because it is unique and really easy. 

Thoughts on this Dessert:

• Here's the ingredients that I used and their correct measurements. To make the filling I used 5 bananas, 1/4 a cup of caramel sauce, 1 1/2 tblsp of honey, and a generous amount of cinnamon (add to taste). For the crust you need 2 pieces of phyllo pastry, 1 scrambled egg, and cinnamon. 
• I would maybe make a bit more filling next time, since I had room for more in the pan.
• Make sure you get good quality caramel sauce, the kind that oozes out. If it's watery don't use it for this recipe, it's your solidifying agent! 
• You might also be able to make this using dulce de leche or melted caramel as a substitute. 
• You can also try a substitute traditional pie crust, I liked the phyllo though because it lightened up the dessert, both in texture and healthiness.
• As desserts go this one really isn't too bad for you. The caramel is the worst thing in it, otherwise there is no added sugar because the ingredients themselves are naturally sweet. Really this pie is mostly fruit. 
• I suggest eating it with vanilla ice crew, or cool whip, but it's also wonderful plain.
• IT IS AMAZING WARM FROM THE OVEN, this is the optimum way to enjoy this dessert. Preferably with a cup of coffee, a cappuccino is probably the best drink to pair with it.

This was such a success! I shared it with all of my housemates, and we all agreed that it tasted wonderful and turned out very well :)