Banana Cream Pie

Mix the pastry dough. Toss the 180 g flour with the sugar and salt, then rub or pulse in the 120 g cold butter, stopping while pea-size lumps remain. Drizzle in the 60 ml ice-cold water and bring it together, adding up to 15 ml more only if it crumbles. Wrap the flattened disc and chill 1 h.

Fit the shell. Roll the chilled dough to a 30 cm round, about 3 mm thick, on a lightly floured surface. Drape it into the 23 cm pie dish, trim to a 1 cm overhang, fold under and crimp. A 30 min chill now keeps the crimped edge sharp.

Bake the empty shell. Heat the oven to 190 °C (170 °C fan). Prick the pastry, line with baking paper, fill with baking beans and bake 20 min; then remove the lining and bake 8-12 min more until evenly golden. Cool the shell completely, as a warm crust would soften under the cold cream.

Cook the pastry cream. Heat the milk and the 120 ml cream in the saucepan until steaming. Whisk the sugar, yolks, cornflour and salt in a bowl until pale, whisk in the hot milk in a thin stream, then return it all to the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and bubbles. Keep bubbling 1 min (well above 71 °C) so the starch fully thickens and the yolks are cooked through, then off the heat whisk in the butter and vanilla and sieve into a bowl.

Layer bananas and cream. Slice 3 bananas 5 mm thick and toss with the orange juice, which slows browning. Lay half the slices in the shell, spread over half the warm pastry cream, then repeat with the remaining slices and cream. Press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming and chill at least 4 h until set.

Top and serve. Whip the 240 ml cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks and pile it over the pie. Slice the last banana over the top just before serving and cut into 8. Keep chilled and eat within 1 day, as the bananas darken after that.