Banana Cream Pie

The perfect dessert for the holidays, this Banana Cream Pie has silky from-scratch pudding, a graham cracker crust and fluffy homemade whipped cream. This recipe version simplifies and streamlines the making of a gourmet tasting pie at home.

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Ingredients

Crust Ingredients 

• Graham Crackers– 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs are needed for this simple crust. However, for fun flavor variations other types of cookies crumbs may be used (see the Crust Variations section below).
• Butter– Melted butter helps to solidify the cookie crumbs together to make the crust. 

Custard (aka Pudding) Filling Ingredients 

• Granulated Sugar– It is important to use granulated sugar (aka table sugar or cane sugar) instead of powdered sugar. The reason, commercial powdered sugars have a small amount of cornstarch that can dramatically effect the outcome of the pudding. 
• Cornstarch– Incredibly important as a thickener. Because of its long shelf life, I make sure to keep a large bag of organic cornstarch on hand at all times.  
• Salt– The addittion of a small amount of salt acts as a flavor enhancer and has a chemical role in ensuring a quality custard. I adore the Maldon’s Sea Salt flakes for cooking, baking and as a finishing salt because of its pure and natural taste. 
• Whole Milk– Half and half may be used in place of whole milk. Additionally, to achieve a silky creamy texture, the higher fat content of whole milk or half and half is preferable over lower fat milk options. 
• Egg Yolks– The egg yolks play an important roll in creating a creamy textured custard/pudding. Additionally, egg yolks helps the other ingredients to mix together well. Pro Tip: Use the freshest eggs possible to avoid an over eggy flavored custard. 
• Unsalted Butter– Adds flavor and a smooth texture. It is important to use unsalted vs salted butter because the amount of salt added is much more controllable. 
• Banana Liqueur (or Vanilla Extract)– Either a good quality banana liqueur, or pure vanilla extract, flavors the custard beautifully. 
• Bananas– The star of this pie, bananas are not part of the custard but rather added as an additional layer.

Whipped Cream Topping Ingredients 

• Heavy Whipping Cream– The main ingredient for making whipped cream. 
• Granulated Sugar– Sugar adds sweetness to the whipped cream. 
• Pure Vanilla Extract– Adds a delicious flavor to the whipped cream. 

Top Tips for Making Banana Cream Pie

How to Keep Bananas Fresh

Bananas are a challenging fruit because once peeled and cut, they can turn brown within minutes. When making Banana Cream Pie there are two options in keeping the bananas fresh.

Soak Bananas in an Acidic Juice

Once the bananas are cut place the slices into a shallow bowl of either lemon, orange or pineapple juice. Let soak for a few seconds and then transfer the slices to sheets of paper towels and pat dry. The acidity in these juices will help prevent the banana slices from turning brown. 

This method is best when doing multiple layers of banana slices with the custard (as seen in the video). Additionally, the pie can be assembled, minus the whipped cream, the night before serving. 

Prepare Bananas Right Before Serving 

It is crucial to let the cooled custard sit in the pie crust refrigerated overnight (see Achieving Clean Slices below). If soaking the bananas in an acidic juice is not an option, cut the bananas and add to the pie with the whipped cream just before serving. 

Tempering the Eggs Yolks

Egg yolks are prone to cooking very quickly when added to hot liquids, basically turning them into scrambled eggs. Nobody wants to bite into a piece of pie and have the shock of eating scrambled eggs.

Because of this, it is incredibly important to temper the egg yolks. In other words, slowly dilute the egg yolks by whisking in a small amount of hot custard multiple times before adding the yolks to the custard pot. The video shows in detail what the steps to tempering the yolks look like. 

Achieving Clean Slices

I have learned the lesson the hard way with cream pies. If you want to achieve clean slices, you must let the custard sit in the pie shell covered with plastic wrap refrigerated over night. This allows the custard to set and the pie slices will hold their shape. 

Additionally, dip your knife into a glass of hot water and then dry with a cloth before making each cut. This will help to easily cut through the layers, making for straight slices. 

Best Textured Whipped Cream 

I personally feel that whipping the cream to the soft peaks state creates a beautiful fluffy topping for the Banana Cream Pie. Here are two ways to know you have reached that state;

1. Solid trails form in the cream while whipping the whipped cream.
2. When the beater is lifted from the cream and the peaks soften. 

How To Make

Graham Cracker Crust (Day 1)

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Process graham crackers into crumbs by using a food processor with the s-blade attachment or by placing crackers in a plastic sealable bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. Pro Tip: The crumbs should look like coarse sand.
3. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave on power level 3 starting with 20-30 second increments.
4. Transfer graham cracker mixture to a medium sized bowl and add melted butter to the crumbs.
5. Mix until butter has fully distributed into graham cracker crumbs.
6. Transfer crumb mixture into a 9 inch pie pan and evenly distribute the crumbs.
7. Using the back of a dry measuring cup press crumbs into the bottom and side of the pie pan.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes and then cool to room temperature.

Banana Cream Filling (Day 1)

1. Separate eggs into a small to medium sized mixing bowl, measure and cut butter and measure liqueur (or vanilla). Set aside.
2. In a medium sized saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir well.
3. Gradually stir in milk.
4. Cook over medium heat on the largest burner whisking consistently until mixture boils and thickens slightly, about 7-9 minutes.
5. Take off heat. Working in small batches temper egg yolks with about 1 cup hot custard making sure to whisk the yolks consistently while tempering. Pro Tip: Using a small gravy ladle or 1/4 cup measuring cup is a convenient way to add a small amount of hot custard while tempering the egg yolks. 
6. Whisk tempered egg yolks back into saucepan.
7. Cook over medium heat on the same burner whisking consistently for a full 3 minutes. 
8. Take off heat and whisk in butter and liqueur (or vanilla).
9. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and place a layer of plastic wrap over the top of the custard. Place in refrigerator to cool to at least room temperature, about 2 hours. 
10. Once the custard has cooled, transfer to pie crust and cover with another layer of plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Pro Tip: Allowing the custard to sit in the pie crust overnight while chilling in the refrigerator will help in creating clean cuts in the pie the next day. 

Topping (Day 2)

1. Peel and cut bananas.
2. Add banana slices to the top layer of custard. (See How To Keep Bananas Fresh section above in post for instructions on how to add layers of bananas with custard the day before.)
3. Add heavy whipping cream to a large chilled bowl along with the sugar and vanilla. (Either a hand mixer or stand mixer may be used.)
4. Beat on low speed for about a minute and then increase to high speed until soft peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
5. Top pie with large spoonfuls of the whipped cream making fluffy disorganized mounds.
6. Garnish with a crumbled graham cracker cookie.

Crust Variations

1 1/2 cups of any type of cookie crumbs may be used for the crust. However, the cookies used should be drier. In other words, it would not work well to use a moist chocolate chip cookie. Additionally, letting any cookies that run the risk of being on the moist side sit uncovered at room temperature overnight will improve the quality of the pie crust.

Here are a few different types of crust variations;

• Replace the graham crackers with vanilla wafers.
• Use Best Peanut Butter Cookies that are left out overnight in place of graham crackers. 
• Nutter Butters can also replace the graham crackers. 
• Traditional pie crust from my Homemade Pumpkin Pie recipe using these instructions and tips on baking the crust before filling.

Storage

Loosely cover leftover Banana Cream Pie with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. The pie will retain its ideal freshness for 2-3 days. However, it is still edible on day 4 but will not look as pretty. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use Banana liqueur? 

Banana liqueur adds in another layer of delicious banana flavor. Traditionally pure vanilla extract is used in the custard/pudding. To use vanilla extract in this recipe simply replace it for the banana liqueur in equal portions. 

Can this pie be frozen?

Bananas have a really short life span once they are peeled and cut. Because of this, it is not recommended to freeze Banana Cream Pie. However, if it is frozen, the taste will remain wonderful but appearance will not be so great. 

Why is my Banana Cream Pie runny?

A runny Banana Cream Pie means that the custard was not cooked long enough. If this is your first cream pie that you have made and this happens, just know you are not alone. The best of us have accidentally undercooked pudding/custard even with loads of experience. 

Pro Tip: Once the eggs are tempered and added back into the pot, make sure to cook the custard for a full 3 minutes over medium heat on the largest burner. 

Can half & half be used in place of whole milk?

Yes, half and half may easily replace the whole milk. Doing so will make an extra creamy pie. Additionally, a combination of whole milk and half and half may be used. 

More Scrumptious Holiday Desserts

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

Old Fashioned Cream Cheese Pie

Haupia Pie

Key Lime Pie

Pumpkin Crisp

Swedish Apple Cake

Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake

Apple Crisp

Pumpkin Pie