The 2 Ingredients That Make Ina Garten's Chocolate Banana Cream Pie Superior

Ina Garten has made a name for herself with her simple yet delicious recipes. She's the queen of knowing how to take a classic dish, and add one or two things that make it even better. This is exactly what we love about her twist on chocolate banana cream pie. An easy dessert, this pie is usually made by making a chocolate pudding, pouring it into a pie crust, letting it cool, and then topping it with bananas and whipped cream. While this sounds absolutely heavenly, the famous cook knows how to make the recipe even better: add Kahlúa and instant coffee to the chocolate pudding.

Garten starts by making a staple pudding with sugar, egg yolks, salt, milk, butter, cornstarch, and, of course, chocolate. But before pouring the mix into the pie crust, she adds a tablespoon of Kahlúa, a Mexican liqueur that is made with rum and brewed coffee. The liqueurs' deep flavor makes it perfect for many different desserts, especially ones that heavily feature chocolate, which pairs oh-so-well with coffee. But it seems like Garten doesn't shy away from double shots, so to intensify the effect, she also adds a teaspoon of instant coffee. If you're a coffee purist, we'd urge you to listen to her on this, since instant coffee is usually great for desserts because it adds flavor without watering the mixture down. You also won't be wasting your high-quality coffee in a recipe where it'll be overpowered.

After you've tried Garten's coffee-infused chocolate banana cream pie, you'll never go back to simpler recipes. Don't be surprised if you're tempted to start adding Kahlúa and instant coffee to many of your desserts. In fact, we encourage you to follow the footsteps of the Barefoot Contessa star and get creative. Both would be delicious in other chocolate and/or banana desserts. For instance, the classic southern banana pudding would be even more flavorful with a dash of these two ingredients. So would a simple chocolate cake.

The sky's the limit when it comes to these simple additions. After all, they both taste great on their own, and cooking is all about getting creative. And the best way to explore that creativity is when you can make small changes that have a big effect on a recipe. These are the small twists that'll have your dinner guests asking what you put into your banana cream pie (or other desserts) because they can tell there's something different but can't quite put their finger on it.