All the details so you can make the perfect honey-sweetened banana cream pie. Each bite is creamy, dreamy and absolutely delicious.
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Hello, my friends!
Are you ready for a delicious honey-sweetened banana cream pie recipe?
Ready or not, this is your lucky day.
This made-from-scratch banana cream pie is delicious. We’ve been trying out versions of it for the past year or so. And I’m excited to finally share it with you.
The Shortbread Crust
You might recognize the shortbread crust from this blueberry cheesecake pie. We use this honey-sweetened crust for all kinds of chilled or pudding pies that call for a graham cracker crust.
Making it in a food processor makes things nice and easy. I suspect you could use a couple of forks or a pastry cutter to mix it up just fine.
For best results, make sure the butter you are using is at room temperature. If you try to cheat and soften it in the microwave it doesn’t turn out as good. Yes I know that from personal experience and will still do it if I forget to soften the butter ahead of time (truth telling right here).
Press the crust into a pie pan (I like to use this tart tamper dipped in a little flour–or my fingers if I’m going for the lazy girl approach which is 99% of the time).
Bake the crust until it’s just starting to turn golden around the edges and set in the center.
Let it cool completely before adding the filling. Since we are telling the truth here, let me just tell you that I have also successfully broken this rule. But I think it turns out a better if you follow the rules.
The Banana Cream Filling
I’ve made this recipe with bananas at various levels of ripeness (never completely brown bananas, but speckled yes). You will have an opinion about this so go with your gut. If you like to eat sweeter bananas, use speckled (or cheetah) bananas in this pie. I personally like them at the just-barely-yellow stage (no greenies please).
I like to slice the bananas and lay them right on the crust before adding the filling. I know there are different layering methods out there, but this one has worked the best for me. No mushy bananas please.
Depending on how thick you slice the bananas, you will achieve a single layer here. That’s the idea anyway, but don’t stress too much if you have a little overlap going on like I do.
The pudding whips up fairly quick (and is absolutely delicious). I like to use half cream and half whole milk for a richer pudding, but you can use milk with less fat content too.
If you are a fussy pie maker, then go ahead and strain the pudding into the pie crust over the bananas after it has cooled slightly. That will eliminate any unwanted clumps. I’ve found that I don’t need to do this if I am vigilant about following the method to temper the eggs and whisking continuously when everything gets added together.
The main thing is to make sure the bananas are covered all of the way with the pudding layer. This will keep them from turning brown and mushy. I have even served this pie the next day and the covered bananas were fine.
The Whipped Cream Topping
This layer is optional and if you’re looking for a pie with a stronger banana flavor you can can leave it off. We do that quite often.
If you are making the whipped topping layer more than just a few minutes before serving, you may want to stabilize the whipping cream with gelatin so it doesn’t get runny on the pie. Again this is a fussy step that we usually skip over, but it’s nice to know about for the perfect banana cream pie.
Speaking of the perfect banana cream pie, I’m salivating looking at all these pictures and am ready to dive in to a piece right now. Enjoy, my friends.
Honey-Sweetened Banana Cream Pie
All the details so you can make the perfect honey-sweetened banana cream pie. Each bite is creamy, dreamy and absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3 tablespoons (2.25 ounces) raw honey
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups (6.65 ounces) all-purpose flour
Banana Cream Filling:
- 2 cups milk (see note)
- 1/4 cup (3 ounces) raw honey
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium bananas
Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons agave or raw honey (see note)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For Shortbread Crust:
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Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
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In a food processor add softened butter and mix a few minutes until smooth. Then add raw honey and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated, scraping down sides of food processor as needed.
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Add half of the flour and mix. Then scrape down sides of bowl, add the remaining flour and mix until dough forms a ball. With your hands, press the dough into 9-inch pie pan.
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Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
For Banana Cream Filling:
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Heat 1 1/2 cups of the milk and the honey in a medium-sized heavy-duty saucepan over medium low heat until bubbles just start to form around edges (about 3 to 5 minutes).
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In a separate medium heat-proof bowl add the remaining 1/2 cup milk and salt. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch until mixture is smooth without lumps. Then gently whisk in egg yolks and set aside.
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When milk/honey mixture starts to bubble around the edges, remove from heat and very gradually add it to the cornstarch mixture in the bowl. Whisk quickly and continuously as you slowly pour it in, so that no lumps form.
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Return the mixture back to the saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a whisk until it comes to a simmer and begins to thicken (about 4 to 5 minutes). Then cook for one minute longer, whisking continuously. Bubbles will pop at the surface of the thickened pudding when it is ready.
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Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Strain pudding through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps or pieces of cooked egg, if desired (see note). Let the filling mixture cool until just warm, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
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Peel and slice the bananas thinly on top of the crust and top with pudding filling. Bananas should be completely covered by pudding layer to avoid turning brown. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly over filling surface to avoid getting a skin on the filling. Refrigerate pie until it is completely chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours (see note).
For the Whipped Cream Topping:
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Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add agave and vanilla and mix well. Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the top of the pie. Refrigerate until ready to serve (see note). The pie is best made and served within 24 hours so the banana slices don't get mushy and brown.
Recipe Notes
1. For the milk, I usually use half whole milk and half whole whipping cream in this recipe. You can experiment with half-and-half and 1% or 2% milk.
2. Straining the pudding is optional. I normally don’t for this pie. As long as you whisk quickly when you add the hot mixture to the egg mixture you should be able to avoid the lumps and cooked egg pieces. If you are super picky about a smooth texture, go ahead and strain the produce the smoothest, creamiest pudding ever.
3. If you are using honey for the whipped topping make sure the honey is runny (not crystallized) or the whipped topping will be clumpy. You can set the jar of honey in warm water for a little while to soften it up before using.
4. I have made this pie and served it the next day with success. Just make sure the bananas are completely covered by the filling so they don’t turn brown.
5. If you are making the whipped topping layer more than just a few minutes before serving, you may want to stabilize the whipping cream so it doesn’t get runny on the pie. To do that, microwave 4 teaspoons water and 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (I use Knox brand) in a small bowl for 10-15 seconds or until clear and runny (don’t overcook or it will get clumpy). Stir and let cool briefly (about a minute). Whip cream until soft peaks and then while the mixer is on, slowly pour in the gelatin mixture and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
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