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Oh boy. There is nothing I like better than an amazing banana cream pie recipe. With that said, however, the kind I like are not the pre-made, banana pudding type pies. I was searching for a real, old-fashioned, before instant pudding kind of banana cream pie and found the perfect pie, literally called Old Fashioned Banana Cream pie recipe. I first made this pie at Christmas and attempted two versions. This version worked well, but a deep, evil part of me likes a little fake banana flavor in the pie, so I used banana flavouring in it.
This pie is so good that it’s worth the extra time to make a real filling, not an instant pudding. It’s also incredibly easy, I kid you not. I whipped this up this afternoon while having a nice coffee visit with a friend, chatting the same time as putting it together.
It’s just that easy.
How to Make Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients Needed:
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 egg yolks, beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 tsp banana flavoring (optional) or 1 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 small,nicely ripened bananas
Graham Wafer Crumb Crust:
- 2 cups of graham wafers or cookie crumbs of your choice
- 1/3 cup & 2 tbsp melted butter
Step by Step Instructions
- Combine the crumbs and butter, press into a 9.5 inch pie plate on bottom and sides to form crust. Refrigerate till using.)
- Prepare your graham crumb crust as described above.
- Combine your sugar, cornstarch and salt into a large, heavy saucepan and set aside for the moment.
- For this recipe you will need to scald the milk and my favorite way to do that is in the microwave. I use my 4 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup, put in my three cups, nuke it until scalded and voila. No mess, no waiting, no using the stove. My mom is the one who taught me this and we do it whenever we make Babka and need to scald our milk fast. Scalding is NOT boiling the milk, true scalding occurs at 82 degrees, well below the 100 degree boiling point. If you like, measure the temperature to make sure you have scalded it. You will get to know the look and smell of scalded milk the more you do it. Just make sure you don’t boil it!
- Place your heavy saucepan that contains the dry mix on the stove on medium heat then slowly whisk in the scalded milk.
- Cook this mixture until it starts to thicken up, about 5-8 minutes depending on the heat of your element. Once it reaches the thickening stage, turn down the heat a bit and cook for a couple more minutes longer, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn or stick to the pot.
- Beat your egg yolks together and then once your hot mixture is ready, we need to temper the eggs. This involves taking a small amount of the hot mixture and combining it into the egg yolks completely. Once you have done that, you are safe to whisk the egg yolks into the whole pot of the hot mixture without fear of it clumping up.
- Cook the egg yolks for a minute, then add in the butter. Whisk until it’s melted into and then remove from the heat.
- Add in the banana flavour. Heathens – like myself- will use banana flavoring to kick the banana burst up a notch. I have a confession to make; I also eat those fake little marshmallow bananas. And enjoy them.So I am a half purist : I adore a homemade,custardly milk and egg filling for my banana cream pie recipe, with a dash of fake flavor added to it.There’s just no accounting for taste some days.
- When the mixture is cooled down to being just warm, slice 2-3 bananas and place into the pie shell you made and refrigerated earlier on. When you have all the bananas you want, pour the filling evenly over the bananas and smooth out the top.
- Refrigerate a few hours so it sets then top with as much whipped cream as you want.
The kids wanted a lot.
Of course.
So, again, here’s to another Happy PieDay everyone!
Love,
Karlynn
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Banana Cream Pie Recipe
This Old Fashioned Banana Cream pie is made with a from scratch vanilla pudding filling and fresh bananas! There is nothing like a real banana cream pie!
- Prep Time
- 40 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Course
- Desset
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 6
- Calories
- 537
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
Graham Wafer Crumb Crust:
- 2 cups of graham wafer crumbs
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup melted butter
Homemade Banana Custard/Pudding
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 egg yolks beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 teaspoon banana flavoring optional or 1 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 small nicely ripened bananas
Instructions
-
Prepare your graham crumb .Combine the crumbs and butter, press into a 9.5 inch pie plate on bottom and sides to form crust. Refrigerate till using.
-
Combine your sugar, cornstarch and salt into a large, heavy saucepan and set aside for the moment.
-
For this recipe you will need to scald the milk and my favorite way to do that is in the microwave. I used my 4 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup, put in my three cups and microwave it until scalded and voila. Scalded milk is steamy, not boiled.
-
Place your heavy saucepan that contains the sugar mixture on the stove over medium heat then slowly whisk in the scalded milk.
-
Cook this mixture until it starts to thicken up, about 5-8 minutes depending on the heat of your element. Once it reaches the thickening stage, turn down the heat a bit and cook for a couple more minutes longer, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn or stick to the pot.
-
Beat your egg yolks together and then once your hot mixture is ready, we need to temper the eggs. This involves taking a small amount of the hot mixture and combining it into the egg yolks completely. Once you have done that, you are safe to whisk the egg yolks into the whole pot of the hot mixture without fear of it clumping up.
-
Cook the egg yolks for a minute, then add in the butter. Whisk until it’s melted into the mixture.Stir in your banana flavoring or vanilla and then remove from the heat.
-
When the mixture is cooled down to being just warm, slice 2-3 bananas and place into the bottom of the pie shell you made and refrigerated earlier on. When you have all the bananas you want, pour the filling evenly over the bananas and smooth out the top.
-
Refrigerate a few hours so it sets then top with as much whipped cream as you want. Slice and serve.
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Made this recipe?
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Please rate this recipe in the comments below to help out your fellow cooks!
J.R. says
Like Ka Lou, I prefer a pastry crust also. (This recipe also surprised me as I’ve always baked graham cracker crusts for a bit. Have never heard of just refrigerating.)
Brock says
The reason you want to add banana flavor is that the recipe was written when we had different bananas. The modern banana doesn’t taste like what was the standard banana years ago. The breed of banana back then was called a Gros Michel and it tasted more like what artificial banana flavoring does. This variety died out due to fungus and now we use the fungus resistant Cavendish breed which is starchier and has a lighter taste. There is literally no way to make this recipe taste right without using the flavoring.
Cheryl says
This was great, tasted like what Gramma made.I used the vanilla but will definitely try banana next time.
Rose says
Thank you for the great pie recipe. It does take a while to make but it is so much better than storebought.
Mariangela Bettio says
I mean Like⤵
Mariangela Bettio says
I needed a comma after that Like^
Mariangela Bettio says
Like the whole thing…
Mariangela Bettio says
Alison Newell should we make this and eat it together???
Alison Newell says
It’s very delicious and can definitely be eaten in one sitting
Mariangela says
Let’s do it! Banana party!
Ka Lou Baker says
Similar to what my mom always made except she never used a graham crust, always pastry which is still my preference. 🙂
J.R. says
I prefer a pastry crust also. (This recipe also surprised me as I’ve always baked graham cracker crusts for a bit.)
Monaliz says
This is my go to recipe the past few years for Thanksgiving. I don’t have the problems everyone else is having and this will be my 3rd year in a row making it, it’s always a hit! I too am a purist and use banana extract! Thank you for a great recipe!
thekitchenmagpie says
Monaliz That’s awesome!! Glad to hear it’s a hit!
Karlynn Johnston says
Glad to hear it’s a fave!!
Josh says
This was SO good! Made it for the wife and I on Friday and it was gone by Saturday night. Whoops.
thekitchenmagpie says
Glad to hear it was good!
Georgia says
@Josh Maybe it’s got to do with the order of using the ingredients according to the recipe, if I got it right. The way I make the custard cream is: pour the 2 1/5 cups of whole fat fresh milk in a pot on medium heat till right before it starts to boil. At the same time mix with a whisk in a bowl the 1/5 cup of milk with the sugar, the egg yolks and the corn starch, the best you can. Once the milk is heated, take some, about a ladle and pour it in the bowl of egg yolks and whisk. Then some more. Afterwards you can pour that mixture back in the pot and stir with the whisk constantly until you see the first bubbles of boiling- while stirring you will see it will get thickened. Remove from the heat. Add the butter, if you add it on the heat it doesn’t help the thickening and it loses its flavor. The same with the vanilla, add it at the end and stir, if it gets burnt it gets bitter.
Kate says
FIVE FIVE FIVE stars with the banana flavor! Thank you, this my is my go to for Easter now!
thekitchenmagpie says
@Kate Cream pies - unless they are fake ones from the store- never refrigerate well for more than a day. If you left it overnight, it definitely would start to weep and separate.
alison says
Although amazingly delicious, my pie never firmed up. When I cut it it spills out…what did I do wrong or what can I add to firm the custard?
Jenni196 says
Magpie, another Pie Day hit for us! I used the banana flavor and it was TOPS!
sharon says
Same question as star86assilem; when does the butter go in?
J.R. says
According to the directions, the butter goes in at step #7.
“Cook the eggs yolks for a minute & then add in the butter.”
star86assilem says
this recipie calls for 2 tblspoons of butter during filling instructions when is that added because its not listed
J.R. says
The directions indicate the butter is added at step #7.