Belief us once we say that all the things that makes this showstopping banana cream pie recipe infinitely spectacular can also be what makes it really easy to drag off. From the salty-sweet graham cracker crust to the sky-high mountain of peanut-blanketed do-it-yourself whipped cream to the yolk-yellow filling bursting with recent banana taste, you’d be fooling your self—and your friends—in the event you thought it was exhausting to make.
A meals processor helps with the pie crust, which requires simply 4 components, together with melted butter for richness and peanuts for further crunch. Baking the crust yields a number of advantages: It toasts the nuts and grahams for depth of taste, and it melts the sugar, which, when cooled, helps to carry the crumbs collectively. After it comes out of the oven, you’ll have just a few seconds to regulate any slumping or different imperfections earlier than the crust begins to set within the pie plate.
Whereas some recipes construct the pie filling out of a field of vanilla pudding combine, we take the old-school route, mixing up a flavorful vanilla custard on the stovetop earlier than folding in sliced bananas and tipping the filling into the pie shell. It takes a minimum of two hours for the custard to set; in the event you’re making it a day forward of time, cowl the pie with plastic wrap or wax paper whereas chilling to forestall a movie from forming on the floor. Simply earlier than serving, beat sweetened heavy cream to a tender texture shy of stiff peaks and punctiliously mound it on prime of the pie. The ultimate bathe of crunchy chopped salted peanuts is greater than only a garnish—it gives texture in a method that crushed vanilla wafers by no means might.
This do-it-yourself banana cream pie is greatest made with ripe however agency bananas. If you happen to’re wanting to make use of up an overripe, mushy bunch, take into account BA’s Finest Banana Bread or this double-banana layer cake. Taking dessert to a potluck? This cream-cheese-laced banana pudding is very transportable.
