Banana Cream Pie

Adapted by Emily Weinstein

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 4(431)
Notes: Read community notes

This recipe, from Dorie Greenspan's wonderful cookbook "Baking: From My Home to Yours," is simple but decadent, and very forgiving for the beginner baker. It’s a glorious mess of fruit and cream — the pressure is off to make it look perfect. —Emily Weinstein

Featured in: The Baker's Apprentice: Banana Cream Pie

Learn: How to Make a Pie Crust

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Ingredients

For the Custard

2cups whole milk
6large egg yolks
½cup (packed) light brown sugar, pressed through a sieve
⅓cup cornstarch, sifted
½teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
3ripe but firm bananas
19-inch single crust made with Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough, fully baked and cooled (see recipe)

For the Topping

1cup cold heavy cream
2tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2tablespoons sour cream

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
To make the custard: Bring the milk to the boil.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well blended and thick. Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about ¼ cup of the hot milk — this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle — then, still whisking, add the remainder of the milk in a steady stream. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking constantly (make sure to get into the edges of the pan), bring the mixture to a boil. Boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened to pudding consistency, before removing from the heat.
Step 3
Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the custard is smooth and silky. You can either press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the custard to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the custard until cold or, if you want to cool the custard quickly — as I always do — put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and stir occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes. (If it’s more convenient, you can refrigerate the custard, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.)
Step 4
When you are ready to assemble the pie, peel the bananas and cut them on a shallow diagonal into ¼-inch-thick slices.
Step 5
Whisk the cold custard vigorously to loosen it, and spread about one quarter of it over the bottom of the pie crust — it will be a thin layer. Top with half of the banana slices. Repeat, adding a thin layer of pastry cream and the remaining bananas, then smooth the rest of the pastry cream over the last layer of bananas.
Step 6
To make the topping: Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream until it just starts to thicken. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until the cream holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in the sour cream.
Step 7
To finish: Spoon the whipped cream over the filling and spread it evenly to the edges of the custard. Serve, or refrigerate until needed.

Tips

Serving: I like to serve the pie as soon as it is assembled, when the pastry cream and whipped cream are cold but not really chilled and the crust has not been refrigerated. I think this is when the pie is at its best — but, trust me, it will still be wonderful if you serve it from the fridge. For me, this is a go-with-coffee pie.
Storing: The pastry cream can be made ahead, and you can keep the assembled pie in the fridge for a few hours, but you really must eat it the day it is made — no hardship.

Ratings

4 out of 5

431 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Francine Pearson6 years ago

I make a pie very much like this, but I prebake the shell
and coat the bottom with a thin layer of chocolate by chopping semisweet chocolate chips and spreading them on the bottom of the shell while hot. I let the pie shell cool then put the filling in. The chocolate coating keeps the shell from getting soggy.

Maria6 years ago

Or, even better: put the brown sugar in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds!

Eva Santos-Phillips6 years ago

Delicious pie, but, not enough cream topping. It took me a lot more than an hour to make. It was difficult to put the brown sugar through the sieve so I pressed it with a fork to take out the clumps.

mauifran6 years ago

Go get a flour sifter! It works wonders!!!!!

EugeniaH6 years ago

maybe use all those egg whites for meringue instead of whipped cream. put chocolate bits (semi-sweet) in bottom of pie - but not so much! An all day project! But boy, is it good.

Nikki6 years ago

Serve the same day but custard can be made and kept in fridge covered with plastic wrap. ( be sure it touches the top of the custard) Double the whipped topping

Alina6 years ago

We loved this pie! Not to sweet and the texture of the custard was amazing. We used a store bought crust due to time constraints; we’ll make the crust recommended next time. We baked the crust for 10 minutes and added bittersweet chips to half. So good!!!!

Charlene6 years ago

I took a number of short cuts, I didn't sift the sugar and used a bought graham cracker base.
This recipe is based on Ireland's wonderful banoffee, it isn't as rich as banoffee, but is more expensive. I would make one and a half times more filling if I make this again and lightly flake a little dark chocolate or cocoa over the cream.
However, if I'm going to make a rich, creamy dessert with bananas, I'll probably resort to Darina Allen's banoffee and not this.