Sunshine in a pie dish
In a lineup of classic Southern pies, banana cream pie wins first place for practically being sunshine in a pie dish. Cold pastry cream filling, fresh bananas and a flaky pie crust, all topped with dollops of fluffy whipped cream — it’s a recipe for smiles.
But the best part about cold pies, like this banana cream pie, is that it’s the ideal make-ahead dessert. In fact, making this pie ahead is a key component to getting it right — the chilling time is as much of an ingredient as the bananas or cream.
What’s in the pie?
Pastry cream filling: To ensure a sturdy, sliceable consistency for the pie, the pastry cream for the banana cream pie has some added cornstarch for stability.
Fresh banana slices: They’re not only for decoration — you’ll find a layer under the cream filling as well. To avoid browning bananas, coat the banana slices in an acidic fruit juice, such as lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, pineapple or even apple juice, to inhibit oxidation.
Flaky pie crust: You can use store-bought or homemade. Or sub in a graham cracker crust.
Whipped cream: For the most delicious results, make your own.
Tips for best results
Plan ahead. I suggest breaking up the recipe into two days. On day one, I like to make and bake the pie dough and pastry cream, then on day two, I assemble the pie with fresh bananas and make the whipped cream.
Chill everything. Follow the recipe to make sure all components are adequately chilled before assembly. The pastry cream really needs the chill time to firm up or it will be too loose to hold its shape when sliced.
Strain the pastry cream. There’s an added step in this recipe to strain the pastry cream before refrigerating, and while it’s not necessary, I’ve never once regretted pulling out the sieve. No matter how well I think I’ve stirred, the sieve always manages to catch a few lumps in my cream. It’s worth the wash.
Make whipped cream right before serving.
Fresh whipped cream is best made day-of; resist the urge to do that in advance.