Dreamy Banana Cream Pie with No-Bake Crust

Unforgetable Banana Cream Pie - A Timeless Treat Made by Scratch

Dreamy Banana Cream Pie - Made by Scratch

For all the banana lovers of the world, this is for you. This exquisite pie will make your eyes close giving all your attention to your first bite. Once you make this creamy pie by scratch, there is no more going back to the boxed vanilla pudding short-cuts. And, I dare you to find a restaurant that can make a better banana cream pie.

Serves: 6 to 8

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Suggested Tools:

· Food processor or rolling pin

and cutting board

. 2 Qt. saucepan

. 9” Pie plate

. Medium bowl (for crust)

. Small bowl (for egg yolks)

. Measuring cups

. Measuring spoons

. Whisk

. Large spoon

. Spatula

. Fork

Note: For timing purposes, the crust should be made before starting the custard.

Crust Ingredients:

1. 12 full-size graham crackers (about 1 ½ cups)

- use gluten free graham crackers for GF version

2. 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3. 7 tablespoons butter, melted

Crust Instructions:

1. Roughly crumble graham crackers into the food processor and run the food processor until the crackers are finely crumbled. An alternative is to finely crush the crackers with a rolling pin on a large cutting board.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the crackers and sugar and mix up well to evenly distribute. Add the melted butter to the dry mixture, a little at a time, and with a fork stir the butter into the cracker crumbs to moisten all of the crackers. If you feel you have not moistened all of the crackers, feel free to add additional melted butter. If the crumbs on the side of the pie plate are not moist, the crust will fall on the sides. On the other hand, too much butter can cause your crust to be very hard to cut.

Generously coat the pie plate with baking/cooking spray. With a large spoon or flat bottom glass, press the crumbs on the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Caution not to press too hard as that may cause your crust to be hard to cut. It is important to ensure the crust covers the sides of the pie plate so the custard has a structure to adhere to.

4. Place the finished pie crust in the refrigerator for at least one hour before filling it with the completed custard.

Pie Custard Ingredients:

. ¾ cups granulated sugar

. 1/3 cup all-purpose flour or corn starch (for gluten free)

. 1 cup whole milk

. 1 cup half-n-half

[Instead of the above milk combinations, you can use 2 cups whole milk or 2 cups half-n-half. I prefer the combination of milk types as I think it is a very good balance].

. 3 large egg yolks, beaten

. 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

. 3-4 bananas, sliced to desired thickness

. ¼ teaspoon salt

Pie Custard Instructions:

1. Add to the saucepan the flour, sugar and salt and stir to combine well.

2. Gradually add the milk(s) and heat on medium heat stirring slowly constantly with a whisk.

If you start to feel with your spoon a film on the bottom of the saucepan, turn the heat down to avoid burning the custard. Continue the stirring process until the mixture begins to bubble slightly. Once you see bubbles, continue cooking and stirring for two to three minutes or until much thicker.

Note: To view a demo of how thick the custard should be, view the video below.

3. Now it is time to temper the egg yolks with the custard. (Temper means to bring the two liquids to the same temperature). To do this, add three or four tablespoons of the hot custard to the yolks and beat together rapidly to combine. Then slowly add the yolk mixture into the custard pot and stir well while cooking two more minutes.

4. Take the custard off of the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla to combine well.

5. On top of the pie crust, add a layer of sliced bananas (do not overlay them onto each other). Then add one half of the custard mixture and carefully spread the custard over the bananas.

6. Add another layer of sliced bananas on top of the first custard layer. Then to that second layer of bananas, add the rest of the custard. Refrigerate the pie for at least one hour.

7. If you choose to top your pie with whipped cream, you can either use a pre-made whipped cream or make your own. I’ve made my own in this case (though I didn’t have quite as much heavy cream as I really wanted).

Note: You can keep the banana slices from turning brown by dipping them in either fresh lemon juice or orange juice. I did not do that for this particular pie, but in the past I have done it only for the top banana slices. The juice does not change the flavor of the bananas.

Below is a traditional recipe for a nice home-made whipped cream. With or without whipped cream, I like to add a few more sliced bananas on top of the pie. This “tells” the pie recipient the type of pie they are about to enjoy.

Whipped Cream Ingredients:

. 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

. 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

. 1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped Cream Instructions:

1. Whip the cream with an electric mixer on high until soft peaks start to form and then turn the mixer off and add the sugar and vanilla. Complete the mixing process until you see more defined whipped cream peaks.

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