Banana cream pies

1. For the custard, put the bananas in a saucepan with the vanilla, lemon juice and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until the bananas are mushy and starting to break down. Remove from the heat and blend to a smooth purée; set aside.

2. Put the milk in a clean saucepan and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk the egg, egg yolks, caster sugar, cornflour and a pinch of flaky sea salt in a large bowl until smooth. Pour in the hot milk, whisking to combine. Pour the custard back into the pan and whisk constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. (Don’t worry if it looks lumpy; it will smooth out as you continue whisking.) Scrape the custard into a bowl and mix in the banana purée. Press a sheet of cling film onto the surface of the custard and chill until needed.

3. For the pastry, pulse the flour, almonds, icing sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg and pulse until the mixture starts to form a dough. Tip the mixture onto a lightly floured work surface and use your hands to bring it together into a uniform dough. Shape into a log, wrap in cling film and chill for 15-20 minutes until firm.

4. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 12 equal-sized pieces. Roll out a piece to a circle, then use your fingers to press it into the base and up the sides of the tin, until lined evenly. Repeat to fill all the holes, then chill until the dough is firm.

5. Preheat the oven to 190˚C, gas mark 5. Line each pie case with a crumpled piece of parchment and fill with rice or lentils – baking beans will be too big. (These can be reused for baking but should not be cooked and eaten.) Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the parchment and rice or lentils and bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Set aside and cool.

6. When ready to assemble, fill each pie case with banana custard. Whisk together the double cream and vanilla bean paste until the mixture just holds soft peaks. Spoon a mound of cream onto each pie, dust with a little cocoa powder and place a dried banana slice on top. These pies are best served immediately, but can also be chilled for up to 24 hours.