I love all banana cream pies, but this one is absolutely the best ever. Although this recipe is a little time-consuming, it is really not difficult to prepare. You spend most of your time just waiting for things to boil or cool, and the result is an awesome desert that will impress your family and friends.
Recipe information
Yield
makes one 9-inch pie
Ingredients
Filling
Crust
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the filling: Fill a large bowl about halfway with ice cubes and add enough water to just cover the ice. Set aside.
Step 2
Whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and 1 cup of the half-and-half in a medium bowl. Place the remaining 2 cups of half-and-half and the sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot half-and-half mixture into the egg yolks, and then whisk the egg yolks and half-and-half into the hot half-and-half. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture just comes to a boil. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Add the vanilla and whisk until smooth. Strain the custard through a fine-meshed sieve into a medium bowl. Place the bowl of custard into the ice water and stir occasionally until cool. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Step 3
To prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 4
Place the vanilla wafers and melted butter in a 9-inch pie pan and mix until all of the vanilla wafers are moistened. Firmly press the mixture to cover the bottom and sides of the pan and bake the pie crust for 20 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
Step 5
To prepare the pie: Peel the bananas and slice them into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Arrange half of the bananas in an even layer in the bottom of the crust. Spoon half of the cooled custard over the bananas and spread smooth. Place the remaining bananas in an even layer over the custard and top with the remaining custard. Refrigerate the pie for at least 2 hours or overnight.\
Step 6
To prepare the topping: Whip the cream with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and whip on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft peaks form. (Test for soft peaks by pulling the beaters straight up. The cream should pull up with the beaters and form a peak, and when it releases, the tip should fold over and be slightly soft.) Spoon the whipped cream over the custard and refrigerate the pie until you are ready to serve it.
Kitchen Vocab
Step 7
The process of whisking a little hot liquid into the eggs is called tempering the eggs. This is necessary whenever you are adding eggs to a hot liquid. Tempering allows the eggs to slowly increase in temperature without cooking them. If the eggs were added directly to the hot liquid they would cook and you would end up with scrambled eggs floating in the half-and-half.
Kitchen Safety
Step 8
Ice water baths are used to quickly cool foods to a safe temperature. Perishable foods, in this case the eggs and milk, should be kept below 40°F or above 140°F. Ice water baths shorten the time in the “danger zone” (between 41°F and 139°F) where bacteria growth can occur.
