This Brown Sugar Banana Cream Pie takes banana cream pie to a whole new level. An easy to make graham cracker crust is topped with a layer of bananas, luscious homemade brown sugar custard and finished with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Pie and Beer Day was a few weeks ago. Okay, officially it’s Pioneer Day, on July 24 in Utah. Pioneer Day is a Utah holiday to celebrate Mormon pioneers arrival into the Salt Lake Valley. Unofficially we like to celebrate it as Pie and Beer Day. Really though we just like an excuse to eat pie.
When I asked my son what kind of pie he would like me to make for Pie and Beer Day, he said banana cream pie. Banana cream is perfect any time of year, but sounded like a perfect summer pie for a Pie and Beer Day celebration.
Making Banana Cream Pie
Banana Cream Pie is an easy pie to make. In a pinch you can make the pudding/custard part from a box. However, if you’ve never tried making your own pudding, you need to give it a try. It only takes a few ingredient and it tastes so much better than boxed pudding.
Traditionally, banana cream pie has a traditional pie crust, but for my Brown Sugar Banana Cream Pie I decided a graham cracker crust would be a better match. The crumbly cookie crust goes great with the smooth creamy filling.
Once you have the graham cracker crust baked and cooled, it’s time to make the custard. The secret to getting a smooth custard is whisking the custard the entire time it’s cooking. Don’t turn up your heat too high, use a medium heat and be patient while the custard cooks.
Once the mixture starts to boil, it will thicken quickly. You can remove the saucepan from the stove if the custard is thickening too quickly and looking a little lumpy. Just keep whisking it and it will smooth right out.
Baking Tip:
Be sure and cover the pie with plastic wrap while the pie is cooling. This prevents the custard from forming a film on top.
I love this big box of plastic wrap from Costco. Stretch-Tite plastic wrap by Kirkland is so easy to use. It has a slider you put on the opening of the box that cuts the plastic wrap. So much easier than trying to cut in on the metal teeth.
After you’ve layered the crust with bananas and custard, it’s time to pile on the whipped cream. I decided to use about half of the whipped cream to pipe a pretty edge on my pie.
Whipped cream is easy to pipe. All you need is a piping bag and a piping tip. You can even use a Ziploc bag instead of a piping bag, and then throw it away when you’re done.
To decorate the pie, I crushed up a graham cracker and sprinkled the crumbs on the edges of the pie. Then I lightly drizzled some caramel ice cream topping on the edges as well.
My husband is crazy about the Ghiradelli Caramel Sauce. So when I served the pie, I drizzled a little bit of caramel on top of each slice.
If you and your family loves banana cream pie, you’re definitely going to want to try this brown sugar banana cream pie. It’s divine.
Brown Sugar Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs about 10 crackers
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For the filling
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 ¾ cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 small bananas peeled and sliced ¼″ thick
For the whipped cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the crust
- Preheat oven to 325º. Crush grahm crackers in a Ziploc bag in to fine crumbs. Add butter and toss until well combined.
- Press crumbs evenly/firmly into bottom and up sides of a 9″ pie plate. Bake until about 10 minutes until crust starts to brown. Cool on wire rack to room temperature.
For the filling
- Whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Whisk egg yolks and milk in a glass bowl. Gradually whisk egg mixture into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 6 to 7 minutes or until mixture just starts to boil.
- Cook, whisking constantly, 1 to 2 more minutes until mixture starts to thicken; remove from heat. Whisk butter and vanilla into custard.
- Place the sliced bananas in the bottom of the crust. Spoon the custard over the bananas, using a spatula to distribute the custard evenly. Place plastic wrap directly on warm filling to prevent film from forming. Refrigerate the pie several hours.
- ASSEMBLE THE PIE
To assemble the pie
- When the pie is chilled, pour the cream into a medium-size bowl. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and using either a mixer or whisk, beat the cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
- Pile the whipped cream over the pie covering the filling completely.
- Place the pie in the refrigerator and keep chilled until ready to serve.
Nutrition
More pie recipes you might like:
Coconut Cream Pie, Barbara Bakes
Creamy Lemon Yogurt Pie, Barbara Bakes
Lemon Blackberry Chess Pie, Barbara Bakes
The Perfect Razzleberry Pie, Sweet Basil
Classic Blueberry Pie, Baking A Moment
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Carol
What a treat! Gosh I haven’t made banana cream pie in I don’t know how long. I’m the traditionalist that goes with a regular blind baked pie crust and vanilla filling….the basic from scratch recipe I’ve been making for eons. Time to think outside the box! I bet the brown sugar really adds a nice touch to that creamy filling. I love homemade cream pies-and yours looks delicious.