Banana Cream Pie

Let’s talk about Banana Cream Pie for a minute. In my world if dessert doesn’t have any chocolate in it, it’s going to have to be really good to be worth the calories. And this pie is really, really good! It’s 3 layers of amazing-ness with a Nilla wafer crust, cool and creamy banana pudding, and sweetened whipped cream.

Recently Nielsen-Massey Vanilla sent me a bottle of their Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract to try and I used it in this cream pie. Verdict: I’m a fan for life. Nielsen-Massey has also recently launched a new “Better Your Bake” series of 1 minute videos on their website that you should definitely check out. Lots of great information on there!

Here’s how to make the pie!

The Crust

Start by crushing 3 1/2 cups of Nilla wafer cookies in the food processor (or by hand if you have some pent up aggression, haha). Whenever I see 3 1/2 cups of crushed cookies in a recipe I wonder if I measure before or after crushing the cookies. In this case, measure 3 1/2 cups of cookies before crushing them.

To the cookie crumbs, add some flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter.

Combine until the mixture resembles wet sand.

And press into the bottom of a pie pan. I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to help make the crust more uniform.

Bake for about 10 minutes until set and let cool while you make the banana pudding (technically vanilla pudding, with added bananas).

Banana Pudding

Start by mixing some sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks in a medium sized, heatproof bowl. See the vibrant yellow of these egg yolks? They are brown, farm eggs (from Costco – haha).

Whisk until fully combined.

Heat some milk and cream on the stovetop until warm (but not boiling). Take a ladle of the warm milk mixture…

…and add it to the egg mixture. Whisk until totally combined. This is called tempering the eggs. This step keeps the egg yolks from cooking into scrambled eggs, while the pudding simmers on the stove.

Pour the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan with the milk and cream. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the vanilla and a few tablespoons of butter.

Place some plastic wrap directly over the surface of the pudding and let it cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes. The plastic wrap helps to keep the pudding from developing a “skin.”

Assembling the Pie

Place a thin layer of pudding on the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Thinly slice 2 bananas and place them on the layer of pudding. Pour the rest of the pudding over the sliced bananas and smooth the top of the pie out. Let set in the fridge until completely cool (again, don’t forget to press a layer of plastic wrap over the pudding to keep it from developing a “skin”) and garnish with whipped cream just before serving.

This is an all-time favorite! Enjoy!

Banana Cream Pie

Crust:
3 1/2 cups Nilla Wafer cookies, crushed in food processor
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
Dash of cinnamon
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Filling:
5 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of salted butter, cut into 2 pieces
2 large bananas, cut into 1/4” slices

Whipped cream for garnish

Directions

Crust:
Process Nilla Wafers into crumbs in a food processor or with in a large baggie with a rolling pin. Mix the crumbs with brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9” pie pan and bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes, until set and fragrant. Do not brown. Let cool completely before filling.

Filling:
In a heatproof bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until well combined.

In a medium sauce pan, heat the cream and milk until warm (not boiling). Whisk one large ladle of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Then pour the egg yolk mixture into the medium saucepan and cook the pudding, over low heat, until thickened. Stir constantly. This only takes about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter.

Place a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the pudding to keep a skin from forming and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to cool.

Pour half of the pudding into the pie crust. Top with a single layer of bananas, top with the remaining pudding mixture. Refrigerate 4 hours until well chilled. Garnish with whipping cream.