Nuts About Banana Creme Pie

Ingredients

• 9" deep dish pie crust, store bought

Filling

• 225g reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature

• 42g Truvía^® Calorie-Free Sweetener

• 130g crunchy peanut butter

• 120ml fat free evaporated milk, divided into two portions 60ml each

• 1 tsp powdered gelatin

• 2 medium size ripe bananas

• 1⁄4 tsp salt

• 20g toasted coconut, reserve a small amount for garnish

• A handful of roasted unsalted peanuts, as a garnish

Directions

• 1.  

  Preheat your oven to 175^° C.

• 2.  

  Prick the bottom of the pie shell a dozen times with a fork. Bake in the oven, on the center rack, for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Allow the crust to cool completely before filling, about 30 minutes. The crust can also be baked the day before and stored at room temperature until ready to fill. If you could not find pre-toasted coconut, you can also place your coconut into the oven, and bake for 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

• 3.  

  Place 1⁄4 cup of the evaporated milk into a small pot. Whisk in the gelatin and allow to sit for 3 minutes to soften. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat and cook, while whisking, until hot and the gelatin has melted. Do not bring the mixture to a boil. Transfer the hot milk to a mixing bowl, add in the other 1⁄4 cup of evaporated milk. Place this into the freezer for 10 minutes to chill before beating.

• 4.  

  In the meantime, combine the cream cheese and peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for one minute to incorporate. Add in the Truvía^® Calorie-Free Sweetener, and salt. Beat for an additional minute. Set aside.

• 5.  

  After 10 minutes, remove the evaporated milk from the freezer. The edges of the milk should be starting to set. If they are not setting and the milk is not cold, place back in the freezer for an additional 5 minutes. Beat the chilled milk for 4-5 minutes with an electric mixer on high speed. It should now resemble whipped cream.

• 6.  

  Spoon the peanut mixture into the evaporated milk and mix on medium speed for 1 minute to incorporate. Add half of the toasted coconut, 1⁄8 cup, into the pie filling, and mix until combined.

• 7.  

  Spoon a third of the mixture into the baked pie crust, and smooth out, to cover the bottom of the crust. Peel and slice the bananas into 1⁄4" thick slices. Top the peanut mixture with all of the bananas. Cover the bananas with the rest of the peanut cream. To garnish, top with the remaining toasted coconut and peanuts.

• 8.  

  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour, or up to overnight, before serving.