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Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie

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5 from 1 review

Light yet rich vanilla pastry cream on top of a buttery sweet graham cracker crust with tons of fresh sliced bananas and perfectly whipped cream. A light and rich dessert that’s also a showstopper.

Ingredients

Scale

Crust:

21 Graham Crackers

6 tbsp Sugar

8 tbsp Melted Butter

Pastry Cream

5 egg yolks

2 cups half and half

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter

Topping

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 sweetened condensed milk or 4 tbsp sugar

5 bananas

Crushed Graham Crackers for decoration

Instructions

Start by making your crust. Using a food processor crush your graham crackers until they are super fine. Mix in the sugar and add the melted butter. Mix well and then press into your spring form pan or deep pie dish. Make sure to press it into the sides too. Bake at 325 F for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely.

Prepare your pastry cream by whisking the 5 egg yolks with the cornstarch and sugar until smooth and combined. Heat the half and half until it’s boiling hot. While whisking the egg yolk mixture, very slowly drizzle in the hot half and half. DON’T stop whisking. Continue to slowly drizzle while you whisk. This tempering process will prevent the eggs from scrambling. Once it’s fully incorporated take this pot to the stove and whisk continuously over medium low heat until thickened and bubbling. Lower the heat and continue whisking allowing to bubble for a minute more. This will cook the starch out and prevent the cream from separating as it cools. Remove from the heat and add in the sliced stick of cold butter and the vanilla. Whisk till fully incorporated and smooth then place in a bowl. Cover with the plastic wrap touching the pastry cream so it doesn’t form a skin. Refrigerate till completely cooled.

Prepare the whipping cream by whipping the heavy cream with the sugar or condensed milk Don’t over whip your cream. You want it nice and smooth, not like ricotta cheese.

Once your pastry cream is cooled, mix into it 1 cup of the prepared whipping cream. This will slightly lighten the pastry cream, but won’t sacrifice the richness or flavor of it.

Slice the bananas and line the graham cracker crust with a layer of bananas. Add in half the pastry cream, then line with the other half of the bananas reserving a few slices for decoration. Cover with the other half of the pastry cream and then top with the remaining whipped cream. Decorate with sliced bananas and ground up graham crackers. Refrigerate to set for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

See the beginning of the post for all my tips on making the pastry cream as well as tips for a good crust.