Fantastic Banana Cream Pie With Banana Graham Crust

Kittencalskitchen's Note:

To save some time the crust may be prepared and baked 24 hours in advance. It is important to leave the finished pie chill for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight, if you make the mistake of cutting into it any earlier the custard mixture might fall apart --- this pie is delicious!

• Total Time: 9 hrs
• Prep Time: 9 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

CRUST

• 2 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1⁄3; cup sugar
• ¼ cup mashed banana
• ¼ cup butter , melted

FILLING

• ½ cup sugar
• 1⁄3; cup cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups whipping cream
• 1 ½ cups full-fat milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• ½ vanilla bean , split lengthwise (optional but good to add in)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon banana extract (optional)
• 4 ripe bananas , peeled and cut into about 1/4-inch slices (could use 5 small bananas)

Directions:

1. To make the crust: set oven to 350°F.
2. For the crust; in a bowl stir together the cracker crumbs, sugar and mashed banana.
3. Add in the melted butter and stir to moisten.
4. Press into bottom and up sides of a deep-dish 10-inch glass pie dish.
5. Refrigerate for about 40 minutes until firm.
6. Remove from the fridge and bake for about 15 minutes; cool completely.
7. For the filling: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan whisk together cornstarch, sugar and salt to blend.
8. Whisk in the whipping cream and whole full-fat milk, then egg yolks.
9. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds and then add them in with the whole bean (if using).
10. Bring to medium-high heat and whisk until the custard thickens and simmers (about 6 minutes).
11. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon banana extract (if using).
12. Transfer the cooked thickened custard to a bowl; cool completely for about 1 hour, stirring or whisking occasionally.
13. When ready to fill the pie crust, spread 1 cup of the custard over the bottom of prepared crust.
14. Top with half of the bananas (about 2-1/2 bananas).
15. Then top with the remaining custard covering the bananas totally.
16. Repeat layering with remaining bananas and then remaining custard on the top.
17. Chill for a minimum of 8 hours (overnight is even better), or until the filling is completely set.
18. Cut pie into wedges and top with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Reviews

[Chef #861404]

very nice though seem a bit envelop with all the waiting well i guess it paid of tasted very rich/sweet and so good. the crust was sticking to my glass dish so will have to work on that the only thing i changed was one tsp of cinnamon to the crust which made it the best i have ever tasted :)

[Jane Doh]

This was delicious; nice and light tasting. I used both the banana extract and vanilla extract but not the vanilla bean. I accidentally forgot to bake the crust but graham crackers are pretty forgiving. There was exactly enough custard to fill and cover the pie...not an inch more. In the future I'll put 1/2 or 3/4 cup custard on the bottom instead of a full cup so that I will have extra custard for the topping. One note on the custard...in the future I'm going to pull it off the heat the moment it begins to simmer. It thickens fast and gets a little gloppy and hard to spread when it cools. The pie wasn't too sweet and was really enjoyed. Thanks Kittencal for another great recipe.

[DDW]

What a way to fulfill a banana cream pie craving!!! My kids told me to give this 15 stars. The banana in the crust definitely makes this special and I love the vanilla bean in the custard. I did not use the banana extract because I like the fresh banana flavor to shine through the delicious custard. I used my leftover egg whites to top this pie with meringue. Another great one Kitten - thanks!