Banana Cream Pie

Bananas. Sugar. Milk. And some other stuff. BLAM-OH! Delicious.

That's the simplified version of the Banana Cream Pie.

I had extra bananas and what else would I do but bake them into something sweet? Banana bread or pie just makes sense. It's a given. And the fact that I began making this pie at 9:30pm naturally follows in the logical thought pattern I got going on.

However, word to the wise, don't bake this late at night for two reasons: you might not be functioning at 100 percent and indulging in a slice of pie at midnight isn't really that healthy. But, it does make breakfast pie look awfully appealing!


Banana Cream Pie
    adapted from Kelsey's Essentials 

Pie Crust Ingredients

1½ cups flour 

3 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

1½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into small 1 inch pieces

4 tbsp ice water (a little more if necessary)

Directions

Mix flour, sugar, and salt together. Work the butter and vanilla into the dry ingredients.

How I do this: grab a small handful in each hand, turning your palms up, rub the butter into the dry ingredients – start with thumbs at pinkies and rub outwards. 

Before you rub in the butter

You want it to look like this before adding in the water

Add the ice water, a tablespoon at a time, still using your hands work into the dough until it is just combined.

Preheat oven to 425° F, form dough into a disc, and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 min.

On a prepared floured surface roll out your dough, there will be extra so you can make a mini pie or tartlets or something. Transfer the dough to the pie plate, mold, and using a folk poke holes in the bottom of the crust. Line with tin foil, fill with beans or baking weights, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and foil, return to oven for about 5 minutes and bake until the crust is golden.

Pie Filling
½ cup sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp flour

2½ cups milk, the thicker the better

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 bananas, sliced

Topping

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

In a medium saucepan, stir the sugar, salt, cornstarch, and flour together over a medium-low heat. Slowly whisk in the milk. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. As the pastry cream starts to boil, quickly transfer a small portion to the pastry cream to the eggs, whisk together, return make to saucepan. This keeps the eggs from scrambling. Keep stirring the pastry cream until it is very thick. The pastry cream does not thicken much once off the stove so keep it over the heat until it’s very thick.

Remove the saucepan from the stove, stir in the butter, vanilla, and 1-2 of the sliced bananas. Let the cream cool.

For assembly, line the bottom of the crust with banana slices. Pour in the pastry cream and let set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

For the topping, whip the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in a standing mixer until peaks form.

Top the pie with your whipped cream and garnish with the remaining banana slices if you wish.Yum!