This banana cream pie recipe is made with a flaky homemade pie crust, a thick vanilla pastry cream, sliced bananas, and a fresh whipped cream topping. To take it up a notch, there's also layers of gooey salted caramel sauce throughout the pie. You definitely want to try this!
This banana cream pie is to die for!! The salted caramel sauce is so easy to make and adds amazing flavor, and the homemade pie crust is tender, crisp, and the perfect vessel for the thick, smooth pastry cream filling.
How to Make Banana Cream Pie:
Homemade Pie Crust:
I used my favorite homemade flaky pie crust for this recipe, if you want something a little quicker and easier, a graham cracker crust is a great way to go. Just avoid using a store-bought crust if you can, they are much more shallow than the pie dish I used, so you'll be left with a ton of extra filling.
How to Make Homemade Pie Crust:
Cut the butter into small pieces first, then keep it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to add it in. It's best to use unsalted butter so you know exactly how much salt is going into the crust. But if all you have is salted butter, just leave out the extra salt in the recipe.
To make the dough, add the flour, sugar, salt, and cold egg yolk to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Then, add the cold butter pieces and pulse until the mixture is evenly coated. Add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, and pulse just until the dough come together.
Gather up the dough and form it into a ball, then flatten it into a round, flat disc. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out into a circle 2" larger than your pie dish. Drape it over the pie dish and press it down gently into the bottom. Trim the excess, leaving a ½" overhang around the sides. Tuck the overhang underneath itself so you have a thick rim of dough around the outside.
Crimp with a fork to seal, or, to make a fluted edge: Use your index finger to press the rim of the dough in one direction, then pinch it with your other hand in the opposite direction. Repeat going all the way around the outside.
Blind-Bake the Pie Crust:
Place the pie in the freezer and begin preheating your oven to 425°F.
Place a layer of parchment paper over the dough, then cover that with aluminum foil, and fill the foil with pie weights, dried rice, or dried beans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Take the pie dough out of the oven, remove the weights, foil, and parchment paper, and use a fork to poke several small holes in the bottom of the dough.
Place the pie back in the oven and continue baking for 12-14 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown on the bottom. Loosely cover the sides of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. Take the pie out of the oven and allow it to cool completely before filling.
Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière):
Pastry cream is a thick French custard that's made with milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, and a thickening agent such as flour or cornstarch. It's commonly used as a filling for choux pastry ('pâte à choux') to make pastries like cream puffs and eclairs. The pastry cream is cooked on the stove until thick and then strained through a sieve so it's smooth.
How to Make Pastry Cream:
Add egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a large bowl and whisk until combined and smooth. It will look like a thick yellow paste.
In a medium saucepan, add whole milk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
Temper the eggs: Carefully pour the hot liquid into the egg yolk mixture while whisking the yolks constantly so they don't scramble. Once all of the liquid is added, whisk until very smooth and then pour everything back into the saucepan.
Place the pan back over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Lower the heat slightly and continue to cook and whisk until very thick. Make sure it's not at all runny or it won't set in the pie.
Remove from heat and strain the pastry cream through a sieve and into a bowl. Cover the bowl with with plastic wrap and press the plastic wrap onto the surface of the cream to prevent a film from forming. Let the pastry cream cool completely for at least 2 hours before adding it to the pie crust.
Salted Caramel Sauce:
The addition of homemade salted caramel sauce is so good in this pie! It adds a great gooey texture, delicious flavor, and also helps preserve the sliced bananas. Feel free to leave it out, but you may want to brush the sliced bananas with a little fresh lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.
How to Make Caramel Sauce:
- Spray the sides of a medium saucepan with non-stick spray. This helps prevent the sugar crystals from sticking to the sides of the pan and becoming hard and crystallized. Add the granulated sugar and water to the pan and whisk over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
- Increase the heat to medium, stop whisking completely, and let the sugar cook until it reaches a golden amber color. This will take about 10 minutes. You can walk away from it for about 7 minutes, but after that I recommend watching it closely, because perfectly caramelized sugar is usually just a few seconds away from being burnt.
- While the sugar is cooking, add some heavy cream to a bowl and heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. The cream needs to be cool enough to stop the cooking, but if it's too cold it can cause the caramel to seize, or clump up into a hard ball. If the caramel does seize, don't worry, just cook and stir over medium-low heat until it's melted and smooth.
- Once the sugar reaches a dark amber color, take it off of the heat and immediately pour in the heavy cream to stop the cooking. The caramel will bubble up violently at first and then settle as the temperature evens out. Whisk the sauce until smooth.
- Add the unsalted butter and place the pan back over low heat, whisk until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce into a bowl, stir in the salt, and let cool. The longer it cools the thicker the sauce will get.
Assemble the Pie:
- Slice the bananas into ¼"-thick slices and arrange them in a single layer inside the bottom of the pie crust. Spread about half of the caramel sauce over the sliced bananas and let cool for about 30 minutes.
- Add the cooled pastry cream to a large piping bag with the tip of the bag cut off and pipe it into the pie crust. Use an offset spatula to spread it out smoothly and evenly on top, then add more sliced bananas and drizzle more caramel sauce on top. Save some more sauce for serving.
- Cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight (recommended) before topping with whipped cream and serving.
Homemade Whipped Cream:
Homemade whipped cream is easy to make and is the perfect finishing touch to the pie!
Simply whip the heavy cream for about a minute until it's starting to thicken, then add powdered sugar and continue to whip until it's thick and billowy. Add a pinch of salt and some vanilla extract if desired for a little extra flavor.
Spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie with a spatula, or add it to a piping bag with a piping tip to make a pretty design. Either way, it will be delicious!
Slice and serve with more caramel sauce drizzled on top. Enjoy!
More Pie Recipes:
📖 RECIPE
Banana Cream Pie
Equipment
- 9" deep-dish pie pan
- Food processor
Ingredients
Homemade Pie Crust:
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour, (I used unbleached)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk, cold
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small, even pieces
- 3 tablespoon ice water
Pastry Cream:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
Salted Caramel Sauce:
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoon water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Assembly:
- 3-4 medium bananas, cut into ¼"-thick round slices
Instructions
Homemade Pie Crust:
- Cut the butter into small pieces first and then leave it in the fridge so it stays cold.
- To the bowl of a food processor*, add the flour, sugar, salt, and cold egg yolk, and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse for 10-15 seconds or until the mixture is evenly coated. Add ice and water to a glass then measure out one tablespoon of water at a time and add it to the food processor. Pulse just until the dough comes together. Mine needed 3 tablespoons of water.
- Gather up the dough and form it into a ball. Flatten it into a round disc and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out the dough.
- Lightly dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour. Take the dough out of the fridge, sprinkle it on both sides with a little bit of flour, and roll the dough out to a 12" circle. Flip the dough and sprinkle with more flour every so often to keep it from sticking.
- Drape the dough over a 9" deep-dish pie dish. Trim the excess, and leave about ½" overhang of dough around the edges. Fold the overhang under to create a thick rim around the outside, then use your fingers to crimp the edges. Use a fork to poke several holes in the bottom of the dough.
- Place the pie in the freezer for about 30 minutes and begin preheating your oven to 425°F.
- Once your oven is ready, take the pie out of the freezer and cover the dough with a layer of parchment paper. Add a layer of aluminum foil on top of the parchment paper and press it securely around the sides of the pie dough. Fill the foil with pie weights or dried beans/rice and bake the pie for 15 minutes.
- Take the pie out of the oven, remove the weights, foil, and parchment paper, and continue baking for 12-14 minutes longer, or until golden brown on the bottom. Cover the sides loosely with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.
- Take the pie out of the oven and let cool completely before filling.
Pastry Cream:
- In a large bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt, and whisk until smooth. It will look like a thick yellow paste.
- In a medium saucepan, add the whole milk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Carefully pour the hot liquid into the bowl with the yolks, whisking the yolks constantly as you do to prevent them from curdling. Once all of the liquid is added, whisk until very smooth, and then pour everything back into the saucepan.
- Place the pan back over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Lower the heat slightly and continue to cook and whisk until very thick. Make sure it’s not at all runny or it won’t set in the pie.
- Remove from heat and strain the cream through a sieve and into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, press the plastic wrap onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a film from forming on top. Let the pastry cream cool completely for at least 2 hours before adding it to the pie crust.
Salted Caramel Sauce:
- Spray the sides of a medium saucepan with non-stick spray. Add the granulated sugar and water to the pan and whisk over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, increase the heat to medium, stop whisking completely, and let the sugar cook until it reaches a golden amber color. This will take about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it as it cooks because the sugar can go from perfectly caramelized to burnt in a matter of seconds.
- While the sugar is cooking, add some heavy cream to a bowl and heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Once the sugar reaches a dark amber color, take it off of the heat and immediately pour in the heavy cream to stop the cooking. The caramel will bubble up violently at first and then settle as the temperature evens out.
- Add the unsalted butter and place the pan back over low heat, whisk until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce into a bowl, stir in the salt, and let cool. The longer it cools the thicker the sauce will get.
Assemble:
- Add a single layer of sliced bananas to the bottom of the pie crust, then cover them with about half of the caramel sauce. Allow to cool for 30 minutes.
- Pipe or spread the cooled pastry cream over the bananas inside the pie crust. Use a spatula to spread it out smoothly and evenly inside the pie crust. Add more sliced bananas on top of the pastry cream and then drizzle with more caramel sauce. Save any extra sauce for serving.
- Cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight(recommended) before adding the whipped cream topping.
Whipped Cream Topping:
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cold heavy whipping cream for about 1 minute until it's starting to thicken. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla extract (if using), and continue to beat for another minute or until it's thick and billowy.
- Pipe or spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie. Keep the pie in the fridge until you're ready to slice and serve.
- Slice and serve with more caramel sauce drizzled on top. Store leftovers in the fridge for 1-2 days.
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