Food

Home made Banana Cream Pie – Sally’s Baking Habit

March 22, 2023

Creamy and clean from-scratch custard joins bananas, whipped cream, and a buttery flaky baked pie crust to make one epic banana cream pie. This basic dessert is 100% selfmade, like my cherry pie, and the proper make-ahead choice as a result of the layered magnificence must set earlier than garnishing and serving.

One reader, Stephanie, says: “…That is the primary time I’ve used this explicit recipe and it was AMAZING. Truthfully the most effective one I’ve made. I will likely be bookmarking this one for the longer term! ★★★★★“

hands holding a banana cream pie set on a marble countertop.

This can be a fully from-scratch banana cream pie recipe. You received’t discover any field pudding mixes or synthetic flavors hiding inside. I initially revealed the recipe in 2016, and have fine-tuned the method through the years. Prepare for a blissful banana expertise the place you possibly can really style the selfmade distinction. And it’ll graciously fulfill your coronary heart, soul… and your tastebuds.

Right here’s Why You Will LOVE This Banana Cream Pie

100% from scratch, and you may style the distinction.
Creamy and undeniably wealthy.
If custard is cooked correctly, it’s sturdy and clean.
Flaky pie crust shell, or strive a graham cracker crust.
An non-compulsory sprinkle of cinnamon provides a particular and flavorful contact.
Good make-ahead dessert.

slice of banana cream pie being removed from pie dish.

What Is Banana Cream Pie?

The mixture of kitchen magic. 😉 Severely, although, banana cream pie combines selfmade pie pastry crust, recent bananas, vanilla custard, and fluffy whipped cream.

Baked Pie Crust Shell
Banana Slices
Home made Vanilla Custard: This can be a lot like my caramelized banana pudding, solely a bit sturdier so it holds a pleasant slice.
Whipped Cream

Let me stroll you thru every layer, so that you’re absolutely ready when it’s your flip to make it.

First, Bake Your Pie Crust

It’s useful to evaluate my how you can blind bake pie crust tutorial earlier than getting began. Blind baking a pie crust shell = baking it with out a filling. Why will we do this? Nicely, in case you have a no-bake pie filling like coconut cream pie or at this time’s banana cream pie, you want a baked pie crust.

Begin with selfmade pie dough. I at all times use this pie crust recipe, or I’ve a superb all butter pie crust choice. To bake pie crust with out a filling, you want to weight it down to assist forestall it from shrinking. I’m fairly loyal to these ceramic pie weights; they’re cheap and get the job completed. You can even use dry beans. (Observe: You’ll want 2 packs of the pie weights!)

Listed here are the steps:

Make the pie dough forward of time, after which refrigerate or freeze till you’re able to make the pie. Pie crust should chill for at the least 2 hours earlier than rolling out.
Roll i t out, then match into your 9-inch pie dish. Crimp or flute the sides.
Chill the formed pie crust for at the least half-hour. This prevents shrinking. Keep in mind that pie dough should be chilly when it hits the oven.
Line with parchment paper, after which fill with pie weights.
Bake till the sides are evenly brown, about quarter-hour.
Take away pie weights, then prick the underside with a fork. This lets air escape the underside.
Return crust to oven till your complete pie shell is golden brown.
Cool pie shell fully. You are able to do this as much as 3 days forward of time!

This baked pie crust “shell” is crispy, flaky, and prepared on your banana cream filling.

hands using rolling pin to fit pie crust over glass pie dish.

pie weights in fluted pie dough shell ready for blind baking.

pricking the bottom of par-baked pie crust with fork.

fully baked pie crust shell in glass pie dish.

Different Crust Choices:

For one thing simpler, you need to use a graham cracker crust. Be sure to bake it for 10 minutes at 350°F (177°C), then let it cool fully earlier than filling.
Or strive the peanut butter cookie crust from my peanut butter banana cream pie!

Now Let’s Work on the Filling

Listed here are the components you want:

whole milk, bananas, heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and other ingredients on wooden backdrop. — *I take advantage of simply sufficient sugar to sweeten the custard; any extra created a cloyingly candy filling that overpowers the bananas.*

Layer in Your Banana Slices

Layer banana slices into your baked pie crust shell. Generally I add a sprinkle of cinnamon on prime of the banana slices. That is positively a singular addition to BCP, however wow!!! It tastes unbelievable. I didn’t add it to the pictured pie, however style testers and readers who’ve tried it normally rave about it.

Success Tip: Don’t use overly ripe bananas as a result of they’ll seep liquid and break your thick custard filling. Save your brown spotty bananas for banana bread, and use the yellow ones for banana cream pie.

I squeeze in as many banana slices as I can:

banana slices arranged in bottom of baked pie crust shell.

Home made Custard Filling

I’m right here to squash any fears that you’ll have about from-scratch custard. It’s truly fairly simple—if you know the way to whisk, you may make it. You’ll want sugar, entire milk, heavy cream (additionally wanted for the whipped cream topping), and egg yolks. For taste, you’ll add vanilla and butter. For thickening, you’ll use cornstarch. (The egg yolks and cream assist, too.)

Step one is to combine egg yolks and cornstarch collectively:

egg yolk mixture with fork inside liquid measuring cup. — *A fork works for whisking the cornstarch and egg yolk combination.*

I normally do that with a fork in a liquid measuring cup, as a result of we’ll ultimately pour this into the cooking milk combination.

Warmth entire milk, cream, sugar, and slightly salt on the range. As soon as the milk/cream/sugar is gently simmering, slowly stream and whisk slightly of this milk combination into the egg yolk/cornstarch combination. That is referred to as tempering. The sluggish and regular stream of heat milk is bringing the egg yolks’ temperature up with out scrambling them.

Then stream and whisk the heated egg yolk combination into the remainder of the milk/cream/sugar on the range. Cook dinner on low, and let it start to bubble, which occurs fairly shortly. Whisk it whereas it pops and bubbles for simply 1 minute. Take away from warmth, then stir within the vanilla and butter, and enable to barely cool.

The custard will likely be clean, wealthy, and silky:

FAQ: Why Isn’t My Custard Easy?

Do you discover little bits of egg yolks in your custard? It’s possible you’ll not have tempered them slowly sufficient. Keep in mind to *very slowly* stream and whisk a number of the cooking milk combination into the egg yolk/cornstarch combination, after which *very slowly* stream and whisk it again into the pot. Whisk consistently.

In case your greatest efforts nonetheless end in a couple of chunks, you possibly can pressure the completed heat custard by means of a wonderful mesh sieve. Or simply depart it—you possibly can’t actually style it.

The way to Guarantee Your Banana Cream Pie Units

With 4 egg yolks, 4 Tablespoons of cornstarch, and a few heavy cream, you could be sure this custard units into a fairly sliceable texture. Make sure to whisk it on the range usually, and let it bubble and prepare dinner lengthy sufficient for the warmth to assist bind the cornstarch to the fats. (1 minute is a lot.)

pudding being spread over banana slices in baked pie crust and shown again with plastic wrap overtop.

Unfold the vanilla custard filling over the banana slices, cowl with plastic wrap proper on the floor to forestall a pores and skin from forming, then refrigerate the pie for at the least 4 hours and as much as 1 day.

FAQ: Can I Make Banana Cream Pie in Advance?

This can be a make-ahead dessert. You may make the pie dough upfront and bake the pie crust shell upfront. You can even refrigerate your assembled (however not garnished) banana cream pie for as much as 1 day, with the plastic wrap proper on prime of the floor. And you may make the whipped cream topping upfront, however don’t add it till proper earlier than, or as much as 1 hour earlier than serving.

You don’t need to adorn the pie with banana slices upfront as a result of they’ll brown. (A brush of lemon juice can lengthen their freshness by a pair hours, however will have an effect on their taste.)

Proper earlier than, or as much as 1 hour earlier than, serving, prime the pie with selfmade whipped cream. You’ll be able to adorn it any which manner—a thick layer of whipped cream like this banoffee pie, or fairly piped dollops or swirls just like the pictured pie. I take advantage of Wilton 1M piping tip to pipe it.

You might additionally burn up your leftover egg whites and prime it with this marshmallow meringue topping, and toast it with a kitchen torch!

glass bowl of whipped cream with whisk attachment.

overhead photo of banana cream pie with 1 slice removed and sitting on the counter below it.

slice of banana cream pie with whipped cream on wooden plate.

When able to serve, add banana slices on prime. I normally go heavy on the sliced banana garnish. I like texture in desserts, and banana cream pie doesn’t normally ship on that entrance. However with numerous banana slices, we’ll get there.

Now savor each flaky, creamy, fluffy chew because it melts in your mouth, since you need to. You made this all from scratch!