#PiDay ~ Banana Cream Pie

Welcome to #PiDay with the Festive Foodies! Colleen of The Redhead Baker invited us to post a "new-to-your-blog sweet or savory pie/tart/hand pie recipe". I took a moment to look back through my recipe index to try to see what pies I've already shared, and get an idea for something new! My list of pies already shared is pretty long - but I did notice that I do not have a banana cream pie on there! I remember making this banana cream cheesecake for another event and absolutely LOVING it, and so I figured I would find a good classic banana cream pie recipe for today to share.

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Discover More Pi Day Recipes

• Mini Blueberry Ginger Pies by The Redhead Baker
• Maple Cream Pie by Savory Moments
• Dutch Strawberry Blackberry Pie by Palatable Pastime
• Steak & Guinness Pie by Kate's Recipe Box
• Air Fryer Mini Berry Pie by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Greek Chicken and Spinach Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tin Roof Sundae Pie by Simply Inspired Meals
• Indulgent Peanut Butter Pie by For the Love of Food
• Banana Cream Pie by Making Miracles

I will never earn any prizes for my decorating skills or my pie crusts! As much as I love them, and I try, I just can't seem to master the art of getting a pretty shape to hold during baking and still looking good after the fact. Thankfully taste buds don't rely fully on appearance, and this pie was absolutely delicious despite my shortcomings in the pie crust decor department!

This pie is really amazing. And totally worth the time and extra steps involved with blind baking, chilling, and decorating just before serving. The custard is HEAVENLY. It had that perfect consistency. So creamy, stable, and those bananas completely infused flavor into them since I poured the warm custard over them and let the whole thing chill in the refrigerator overnight before serving. My sister and I both threatened to run off with the whole pie plate and a fork, and my dad - a self professed banana cream pie lover - said it's probably the best one he's ever had! High praise indeed! If you're in the mood for an impressive pie to share (or keep to yourself) I would happily recommend this one to try. The touch of cinnamon on the bananas and in the whipped cream just give it a little something "extra" - you can feel free to omit if you don't want that flavor!

Banana Cream Pie adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups whole milk (I used 1 cup 2% and 3/4 cup half and half)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 TBS butter, softened to room temperature
3-4 bananas
sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 TBS confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Prepare your pie crust first (recipe and instructions below, or use your favorite) and let it blind bake while you prep the pie filling, or better yet prep it well ahead of time and allow it to cool before you prepare your pie filling if you have the time.
2. Combine your milk, cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together and then turn the heat to medium-high. Bring it just to a very low simmer, when bubbles start appearing you can temper your eggs.
3. Prepare the eggs by whisking your egg yolks together with the cornstarch in a medium sized bowl. My cornstarch / yolk mixture was VERY thick, keep whisking, it will help it "relax" a little. Once the milk mixture comes to a low simmer, carefully whisk in a little bit of the hot milk into the eggs, whisking vigorously. Continue streaming a small amount of warm milk and whisking until you've added about 1 cup of the hot liquid into the eggs, and the egg mixture is well combined and fully tempered. You can then add the egg mixture back into the saucepan of the milk mixture and whisk to combine. 
4. Return to the heat and cook just until mixture thickens and bubbles have begun to form and pop along the surface. Whisk continuously, watching the sides as you stir so you don't have custard overcooking along the sides / edges.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract, stirring until well blended in. If you are not ready to pour the custard into the pie shell at this time, cover the top of the custard with some cling wrap to prevent a skin from forming while you prep the pie.
6. Slice up 2 of your bananas and layer them evenly in the bottom of the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle them lightly with cinnamon.
7. Spoon the custard mixture over the top of the bananas. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours to overnight.
8. When you are ready to serve, remove the cling wrap and slice up 1-2 more bananas (depending on how you want to decorate the top). Arrange bananas as desired over the top (I only used 1 additional banana).
9. Prep your whipped cream by combining whipped cream ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and blending on high speed until stiff peaks have formed. Scrape into a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip and decorate your pie as desired. 
10. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Butter Pie Crust Dough from Natasha's Kitchen

Makes a double pie crust.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more to dust
1/2 TBS granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lb cold butter (2 sticks) diced into 1/4" pieces
6 Tbsp ice water (6 to 7 TBS)

Directions

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine.
2. Add in the diced butter and pulse again a few times until mixture resembles coarse crumbs and butter is well incorporated.
3. Stream the very cold water in a little at a time, JUST until mixture comes together. If you can squeeze a little dough and it sticks together it should be ready - if you add too much liquid the dough will be too sticky to work with.
4. Work dough into a well combined ball and then divide dough in half. You can pat the other half into a round and refrigerate or freeze for later use.
5. Lay your dough onto a lightly floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin and gently work it into a 12" circle. Lay the prepared crust into your pie pan. If possible, freeze at least 30 minutes to help the crust hold its shape during baking.
6. Blind bake your crust at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes (covering edges with foil  to prevent over browning as needed). Use pie weights to help pie hold shape during baking. 
7. Cool pie crust before filling with bananas and custard so that the pie plate is cool enough to spread cling wrap over and place in the refrigerator once filled.