Banana Cream Piefeatured
Ever since I met my husband I have had to hear about his grandmother’s famous banana cream pie. I’m not sure there was any food item in life that he spoke more highly of – well maybe his Mom’s cakes, but the banana cream pie was definitely his second favorite thing in the world. So from that point on it became my mission to learn how to make this cake, and secretly I yearned to make it even better than the one he remembered.
The problem with my plan was that he always went home for Thanksgiving and therefore had his grandmother’s pie (Thanksgiving was the only time of the year that she made this pie). Well our first Thanksgiving as a married couple provided me with the chance I was waiting for. We could not travel home to be with his family that year, so the responsibility for all the Thanksgiving fixings rested on my capable shoulders. So I toiled and toiled in the kitchen for a few days and the result was an amazing Thanksgiving feast that we shared with good friends, and the pie was amazing! He raved about it to me and to his family…he said I got it just right. What a success as a new bride! I was elated!
So then Christmas came and we went home to visit my husband’s family. I sat next to grandma with my head held high that I had conquered her banana cream pie. It was then that she looked at me and said something along the lines of… “Well it’s not that hard. You just make a package of instant pudding, buy the pie shell, slice some bananas and top the whole thing with Cool Whip.” I nearly died. You mean all this time I had been competing with a pie that took all of ten minutes to make…a pie that pretty much came out of a box??? So obviously I failed to mention that my pie had homemade vanilla custard with brandy infused whipped cream. Luckily the first year that I made the pie for grandma and the rest of the family, everyone overwhelmingly agreed that my banana cream pie was beyond comparison to grandma’s pie, which was never made again!
It really isn’t a lot of work to make this amazing pie and you can do parts of it ahead of time. I do not recommend making this pie the day before your event. The flavor will still be amazing, but your bananas will lose some of their freshness and the crust will not be as crispy. You could however pre-bake the pie crust the day before and simply cover it with plastic wrap overnight. Also, there have been times that I made the custard the day before and simply refrigerated it in a bowl overnight.
So the first step is to start with a pre-baked pie crust. Sometimes I make crust from scratch, but a lot of the time I simply use the pre-rolled refrigerated ones from the grocery store. The crust is super quick and easy and it also has a consistent quality. My mother-in-law always reminds me that people enjoy what’s in the pie shell, not the crust, so don’t worry about all that extra fuss!
Next you need to make the custard. Make sure to have all of your ingredients out and pre-measured because this process can happen quickly. The steps are fairly simple to follow, but just keep stirring. It’s really important to keep that custard moving so that you don’t get any lumps. That’s why I almost always use a whisk through the entire process to keep it super smooth.
If you are serving the pie right away, simply leave the custard at room temp for about 20 to 30 minutes. You will want to cover it very well with plastic wrap or it could develop a thick, gloppy skin. Trust me, you don’t want that. Put the plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to avoid this. If you are making the custard ahead of time, wrap it the same way in plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge.
Place about half of the custard at the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Slice up your bananas and shingle them throughout the pie. I think that it’s best to have a few too many banana slices, rather than not enough so feel free to use an extra banana if you think you need it.
Layer the rest of the custard on top of the banana slices and smooth it out. Again wrap the pie with plastic wrap, making sure that the wrap is directly in contact with the surface of the pie. Refrigerate it until it is thoroughly cooled, usually 3-4 hours.
When you are ready to serve, it’s time to make the whipped cream for on top. Whip the cream and sugar in a stand mixer until soft peaks form, add your vanilla and brandy, then continue to whip until you just reach the stage of stiff peaks.
Decorate your pie and serve! Hope you enjoy.
Ingredients
- Custard Filling:
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/4 C cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 C whole or 2% milk (do not use low fat)
- 1/2 C evaporated milk
- 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TB unsalted butter
- 2 tsp brandy
- 2 tsp banana liqueur
- 2-3 bananas, sliced
- Pie Shell:
- 1 pre-baked pie shell
- Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 C heavy cream, chilled
- 1 TB sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TB brandy
Instructions
- For the filling: In a medium-sized pot, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together. Add the yolks and immediately begin slowly adding the milk and evaporated milk. Ensure you continue to whisk during this step. Drop in the vanilla bean.
- Cook the custard over medium to low heat and continue to stir/whisk constantly for approximately 8-10 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
- Once it comes to a simmer, cook for only another minute then remove the pot from the heat. Add the vanilla extract (if you didn't use a vanilla bean), the butter, brandy and banana liqueur. Remove the vanilla bean (if used) and scrape all the seeds into the pot.
- Pour the custard into a pan and immediately cover with plastic wrap, ensuring the wrap is directly in contact with the filling. Cool until warm, about 20-30 minutes (or refrigerate if you are making the pie the next day).
- Pour half of the custard into the pre-baked and cooled pie shell. Smooth it out and shingle the banana slices over the top. Smooth the remaining custard over the banana slices and again wrap the pie with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
- For the Whipped Cream: Beat the cream and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. When the cream is forming soft peaks, add the sugar and brandy. Continue to beat until stiff peaks just begin to appear.
- Decorate your pie as you wish and serve immediately.
Notes
Adapted from Baking Illustrated cookbook, by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
