World's Best Banana Cream Pie
The world's best banana cream pie with a peanut butter cookie crust and a homemade whipped cream topping. This easy banana cream pie recipe is made without boxed pudding and is delicious topped with chocolate curls, toasted coconut, and anything else your heart desires. The perfect dessert for the holidays!
Ingredients
- For the filling:
- 2 cups whole milk (or sub 2%)
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon bourbon or scotch (optional, but recommend)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon salted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 2-3 large ripe bananas, sliced
- For the peanut butter cookie crust:
- 20-25 nutter butters*
- ¼ cup melted butter
- For the topping:
- 16 ounces (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- To garnish:
- Dark chocolate for chocolate curls
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray or melted butter. This creates such a gorgeous pie but you can also use a regular deep dish pie pan to make this pie too!
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Start by making the crust: Place cookies into the bowl of a food processor and pulse for 1-2 minutes or until cookies are finely crushed. Add in melted butter and process again until well combined.
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Dump the mixture into the prepared pie pan and press into the bottom and side evenly. It should come up at least an inch to an inch and a half on the sides. Sometimes I find it helpful to use a small measuring cup to help set the crust firmly and get the crumbs up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. FYI: The crust will need to be somewhat cool to the touch before you can add the filling.
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To make the filling: In a large saucepan, mix the yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt until well combined and thick. It may take some time to get it all combined but the mixture should be silky smooth once you’re done.
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Next, add milk to a small pot and bring to a slight simmer. Do not boil the milk. You just want it to start to slightly bubble and simmer along the edges. Remove from heat once simmering and immediately whisk in ⅓ cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, keep whisking as we don’t want the eggs to curdle! You’ll need to be quick. Slowly whisk in the rest of the hot milk and continue to whisk.
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After all the milk is whisked into the pan with the egg mixture, immediately place the pan over medium heat and continue to whisk, ensuring that you get the sides and edges of the pan. Once the mixture starts to get warm and slightly boils, it may thicken VERY quickly so you must pay attention closely. Once the mixture thickens to be custard-like or almost like a thick peanut butter (which shouldn’t take that long), you can immediately remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, bourbon and butter; stirring until well combined.
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Next add banana slices all over the bottom of the pie crust so that they are touching. Pour the filling into the cooled cookie pie crust and smooth the top. Cover with plastic wrap so that it touches the filling and refrigerate for 2-4 hours or until cold.
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Once pie and filling are cold and you are ready to serve, make the whipped cream topping: Add heavy whipped cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer!); beat on high until cream reaches stiff peaks. Taste and add additional sugar if necessary and mix once more.
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Evenly spread whipped cream over pie filling, then garnish with dark chocolate shavings or dust pie with a little cocoa powder. Serves 9-12, depending on how large you cut the slices. Pie will stay fresh for a few days if properly covered and stored in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
*See the full post for ways to customize your crust and delicious ideas for toppings!
To store: store any leftover banana cream pie loosely covered with plastic wrap or foil in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
To make pie crust ahead of time: after baking the pie crust, simply store it covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble and chill the rest of the pie.
To make filling ahead of time: once you've mixed the whole filling together, cover the filling with plastic wrap so that the plastic is touching the top of the filling (to prevent air from getting in) and chill the filling in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble the pie. You can also make the whipped cream topping ahead of time and store it in an airtight container until you're ready to add it to the pie!