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Banana Cream Pie made with pudding and garnished with graham cracker crumbs and banana slices.
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Banana Cream Pie

The perfect dessert for the holidays, this Banana Cream Pie has silky from-scratch pudding, a graham cracker crust and fluffy homemade whipped cream. This recipe version simplifies and streamlines the making of a gourmet tasting pie at home.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Banana Cream Pie, Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust, Banana Cream Pie with Pudding
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 24 minutes
Chilling Time 12 hours
Servings 10 servings
Calories 507kcal
Author Heather

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs *about 12 full graham crackers
  • 5 1/2 tablespoons butter *melted, see Note #1 below

Custard Layer (aka Pudding)

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar *also known as cane sugar or table sugar
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons banana liqueur *or pure vanilla extract, see Note #2 below

Topping

  • 4 medium bananas
  • 1 pint heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 graham cracker *crumbled for garnish

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Process graham crackers into crumbs that look like coarse sand by using a food processor with the s-blade attachment or by placing crackers in a plastic sealable bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. 
  • Melt Butter. See Note #1 below.
  • Transfer graham cracker mixture to a medium sized bowl and add melted butter to the crumbs.
  • Mix with a spoon until butter has fully distributed into graham cracker crumbs.
  • Transfer crumb mixture into a 9 inch pie pan and evenly distribute the crumbs. Using the back of a dry measuring cup press crumbs into the bottom and side of the pie pan.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes and then cool to room temperature.

Custard Layer (aka Pudding)

  • Separate eggs into a small to medium sized mixing bowl, measure and cut butter and measure liqueur (or vanilla). Set aside.
  • In a medium sized saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir well.
  • Gradually whisk in milk.
  • Cook over medium heat on the largest burner whisking consistently until mixture boils and thickens slightly, about 7-9 minutes.
  • Take off heat. Working in small batches temper egg yolks with about 1 cup hot custard making sure to whisk the yolks consistently while tempering. See Note #3 below.
  • Whisk tempered egg yolks back into saucepan.
  • Cook over medium heat on the same burner whisking consistently for a full 3 minutes.
  • Take off heat and whisk in butter and liqueur (or vanilla).
  • Transfer to a large mixing bowl and place a layer of plastic wrap over the top of the custard. Place in refrigerator to cool to at least room temperature, about 2 hours. 
  • Once the custard has cooled, transfer to pie crust and cover with another layer of plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. See Note #4 below.

Topping

  • Peel and cut bananas. Add slices to the top layer of custard. See Note #5 below.
  • Add heavy whipping cream to a large chilled bowl along with the sugar and vanilla.  See Note #6 below.
  • Beat on low speed for about a minute and then increase to high speed until soft peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Top pie with large spoonfuls of the whipped cream making fluffy disorganized mounds.
  • Garnish with a crumbled graham cracker cookie. See Note #7 below.

Notes

Recipe Notes
Note #1- To melt the butter cut into smaller cubes and place in a microwave safe bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave on power level 3 starting with 20-30 second increments until fully melted. 
Another option is to place the butter in a small saucepan over low heat on the stovetop until the butter is fully melted. 
Note #2- A good quality banana liqueur adds a wonderful banana flavor. However, pure vanilla extract is the traditional option and is just as wonderful. 
Note #3- Using a small gravy ladle or 1/4 cup measuring cup is a convenient way to add a small amount of hot custard to the yolks while tempering the egg yolks. 
Note #4- Allowing the custard to sit in the pie crust overnight while chilling in the refrigerator will help in creating clean cuts in the pie the next day. 
Note #5- Two Ways to Add Banana Slices (Keeping Banana Slices Fresh)
  1. Layer the banana slices with the custard before letting the pie chill in the refrigerator overnight. Because bananas turn brown, soak the slices in an acidic juice such as pineapple, orange or lemon for a few seconds and place on paper towels and pat dry.
  2. Peel, cut and add banana slices on top of the custard layer right before topping with the whipped cream. 
Note #6- Chilling the bowl used to make the whipped cream helps to keep the cream cool against the friction of the whipping. Either a stand or hand held mixer may be used.
Note #7- The easiest way to crumble a single graham cracker is to place it in a sandwich bag and squish the cookie into different sized crumbs using your hand.

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 198mg | Sodium: 209mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 1289IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 1mg