Alisas banana cream pie

Banana Cream Pie

The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

serves 8

prep Time: 5 minutes plus time to prepare crust

total Time:  1 hour plus 4 hours chilling time

It is important to lay a sheet of plastic wrap flush to the surface of the filling as it cools to prevent a skin from forming.

filling

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 large egg yolks

2 cups whole milk

½ cup evaporated milk

½ vanilla bean (about 3 inches long) split lengthwise = 1 tsp extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons brandy (optional)

1 recipe Pie Dough for Custard Pies, baked and cooled

Topping

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.      For the filling:  Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan.  Whisk in the egg yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in the milk and evaporated milk.  Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean halves using a paring knife.  Add both the vanilla seeds and pod to the pot.  Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently, then cook for 1 minute until the mixture is thick and smooth.  Off the heat, discard the vanilla bean pod and whisk in the butter and brandy.

2.     Pour the filling into a shallow pan.  Lay a sheet of plastic wrap flush to the surface of the filling to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool at room temperature until just warm, about 30 minutes.  Pour the warm filling into the baked, cooled pie crust and again lay a sheet of plastic wrap flush to the surface of the filling.  Refrigerate the pie until completely chilled, about 4 hours.

3.     For the topping:  Just before serving, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form.  Spread the whipped cream attractively over the top of the pie.  Slice fresh bananas on top of whipped cream.

We found it best to put a layer of banana slices in the middle of the filling – this prevents them from browning or making the crust soggy.

to make ahead

The pie, without the topping, can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 day.  The cream can be whipped and refrigerated separately from the pie, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.