Banana Cream Pie with Whipped Cream and Fresh Bananas

Laura Reigel

Servings :12

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 25

Refrigerate before serving 3

Total Time 1 25

Add the flour, sugar, and salt to food processor with metal blade attachment. Pulse a few times to blend dry ingredients.
Add the diced butter to the bowl. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
Add the ice water via the liquid cup dispenser. Pulse until the mixture comes together.
Turn out on a lightly floured surface. Smooth together and knead a few times.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (At least 4 hours)

Roll out the pie dough on a floured surface. (You can substitute in finely graham cracker crumbs here)
Shoot for a 13 to 14-inch circle.
The dough should be about 1/8th of an inch thick.
Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate.
Be careful not to stretch the dough here. Stretched pie dough has a tendency to spring back when it is baked.
Trim any overhang, leaving about 1 inch around the pie plate.
Fold the excess dough under the pie crust and fashion the edges by crimping
Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork.
Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour and up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425℉.
Line the chilled dough with foil and fill with beans or pie weights.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil and pie weights.
Reduce the temperature to 375℉.
Bake until the bottom looks dry and the edges are golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Let the pie crust cool on a rack while you prepare the filling.

Mix the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Whisk until sugar has dissolved (and the mixture has become lighter in color).
Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Add the vanilla pod. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
TEMPER THE EGGS: While stirring the egg mixture continuously, add about one cup of the hot mixture into the eggs. I usually use a ladle or measuring up for this step. Vigorously whisk the eggs so that the hot milk doesn't cook them! (I promise this is the hardest step)
Pour the eggs mixture into the pot with the rest of the milk. Vigorously whisk until combined.
Place the pot back on the heat. Heat while stirring continuously with the whisk until the mixture begins to thicken. Continue to cook for up to another 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and continue to stir for another 2 minutes. Transfer the pastry cream into a bowl and remove the vanilla pod. Let cool at room temperature.
Once at room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and then refrigerate.

Once the pie crust and the pastry cream are completely cooled, start to put the pie together.
Put one-third of the pastry cream into the pie crust. Spread evenly to distribute.
Add a layer of sliced bananas on top of the pastry cream.
Follow with another third of the pastry cream and another layer of sliced bananas.
Top with the last third of the pastry cream. [You will end up with cream->bananas->cream->bananas->cream.]
Decorate the top with a bit of whipped cream and more sliced bananas. [I also added some shaved almonds to the top of the one I made.]

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Add the melted butter and stir until fully combined and all of the crumbs are moistened.
Scoop the mixture into a 9-9.5 inch pie plate and firmly press it down into an even layer on the bottom and up around the sides of the dish.
Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.