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Hi Bold Bakers!
As you all know, I’m all about making things that seem complicated… simple. I have a whole series based on taking my favorite classics and making them in a matter of minutes! We’ve done 10 Minute Tiramisu, 10 Minute Key Lime Pie and now we created a 15 Minute Banana Cream Pie! This no-bake wonder features a vanilla cookie crust, freshly sliced banana, and a rich homemade pudding! Even I’m surprised we didn’t come up with this recipe sooner because this pie is going to blow you away!
How Do You Thicken Banana Cream Pie?
Instead of using a store-bought pudding mix, also known as custard, I make my own from scratch. All-purpose flour combined with egg yolks, cooked gently in the homemade pudding mix will thicken it right up! If you are gluten-free and cannot have wheat-based flour you can use gluten-free all-purpose flour or cornstarch if you prefer.
What Kind of Pie Crust Should I Use for Banana Cream Pie?
To make the crust of this pie I use classic vanilla wafers. In America these are called “Nilla Wafers,” but any vanilla or neutral-flavored cookie will work perfectly. Simply grind the cookies into crumbs in your food processor or by hand, then combine with the melted butter. This mix will easily be pressed into your pie tin, creating a super tasty no-bake pie crust!
Can Banana Cream Pie Be Dairy-Free?
If you don’t eat dairy, no worries, you can make the pudding with almond, soy, oat or coconut milk. This may change the flavor just slightly but it will still be rich and thick! Either my recipe for Homemade Almond Milk or Coconut Milk will work really well in this recipe.
How Do You Store Banana Cream Pie?
Since my pie is designed to set in the fridge, cover it and keep it in the fridge for later, too.
How Long Does Banana Cream Pie Last?
Because of the bananas turning brown I recommend you eat it within 24 hours of assembly. However, you can make the pudding and crust up to 2 days in advance and assemble the pie when ready to serve.
Tips and Tricks to Making 15-Minute Banana Cream pie:
- Feel free to use any vanilla or plain cookie
- To make the cookie crumbs without a machine use a large plastic bag and a rolling pin or heavy bottle to crush them
- Make the crust up to 2 days in advance
- Make pudding up to 2 days in advance
- Top the pie right before serving to ensure the bananas do not begin to turn brown
*NOTE: I updated this recipe 1/27/2020 add increased the flour from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup as some people were finding their pudding to be runny.
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15 Minute Banana Cream Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the pudding filling:
- 3 cups (24floz/675ml) whole milk
- 3/4 cup (6 oz/170g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz/71g) flour*
- 3 egg yolks*, lightly whisked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons (1oz/28g) butter
- 2 bananas, medium, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
- 1 cup (8floz/225ml) cream, whipped
For the vanilla cookie crust:
- ½ cup (4oz/115g) butter, melted
- 2 cups (6oz/170g) vanilla cookie crumbs (Nila Wafers)
Instructions
To make the pudding filling:
- In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat combine the flour and the sugar. Slowly stream in the milk while whisking constantly to ensure the sugar and flour dissolve into the milk.
- Continue to whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Once the mixture has thickened, take a bit of the hot milk mixture and slowly stream it into the egg yolks while whisking vigorously. This is called" tempering" the eggs and will help bring them up to temperature so they do not scramble when being added into the hot milk. Temper the eggs a few more time with the hot milk mixture then add the egg yolks into the milk.
- Continue to cook the pudding mixture until it is very thick, another 4-5 minutes, whisking as you go.
- Remove the pudding from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, salt, and butter. Set aside to cool down.
To make the vanilla cookie crust:
- First prepare a 9-inch cake or pie pan by generously buttering it and lining with 2-3 layers of cling wrap, leaving some excess hanging over the sides of the tin. This will help you lift the finished pie out of the tin once ready to serve.
- To make your crust, combine the cookie crumbs and the melted butter in a large bowl. Mix until you've reached the texture of wet sand.
- Transfer the crust mixture into the prepared tin. Using your fingers, press the crust mixture into one even layer along the bottom and sides of the tin. Place the crust in the fridge to set while you make the filling.
To assemble the pie:
- Remove the crust from the fridge and cover the bottom of the crust with two layers of freshly sliced banana.
- Pour the pudding mixture on top of the layer of bananas, filling the pie to the top. Smooth the top with a spatula.
- Chill the pie for a minimum of 4-5 hours for the pudding to set firm.
- When ready to serve, pipe some whipped cream and lay a few additional fresh sliced bananas on top.
- Cover and store the pie in the fridge. This pie is best enjoyed within 24 hours so the banana's don't brown.
My loved ones and I have been absolutely loving the pie that we’ve already made it three times, haha! Its the perfect dessert for warm weather (I live in a country that is always hot and humid) and not too filling. I found that using cornstarch resulted in a more silky curd that holds together better than plain flour (which turned out rather watery and floppy despite using 71g). Would recommend using 55g to 60g of cornflour for a silky, pudding-like texture as using 71g of cornstarch was abit too firm for my liking. Sieve the custard through a sieve… Read more »
OMG!!! This turned out much better than I expected. Very flavorful. It tastes like a pie I would buy from a bakery. I used Trader Joe’s organic Vanilla Wafers for the crust. They are much lighter than Nilla wafers, so they require less butter in the crust. I also had to use the whole 9oz bag. I’m really looking forward to the cook book. By any chance is there a Christmas pudding recipe in it?
The custard on this pie is simply amazing! After chilling for 4 hours, it absorbs the banana flavor and is a knock out! Super easy, except I did find that my custard took almost 10 minutes to thicken instead of 5.
Many apologies for my reply above some got cut off maybe because one of the steamed puddings was called Spotted Dick it is like and similar to the Syrup Pudding both are pre Victorian recipes as are the Christmas Pudding and Christmas Cakes . If anyone including the amazing Gemma would like recipes for any or all these recipes I would be more than happy to send you them as a Thank You for Gemmal Nothing like your Irish Soda Bread dear A wonderful cook American s may not know of Spotted Dick but it is not being crude or… Read more »
So this pie was delicious! My only complaint is that the custard was so runny that the pie couldn’t keep its shape when cut, even though I used the adjustment with more flour. Did I maybe not cook it long enough?
It still tasted wonderful – I just needed a bowl rather than a plate.
Lactose free version using coconut milk was the most silky decadent dessert I’ve had in years. Didn’t even need the almond milk whipped cream in a can. Had one piece and freezing the rest-just one piece a week is all I can manage to keep calories in check. If freezing degrades the quality I’ll update next week. Thanks Gemma!
Instead of increasing the flour. You should have increased the egg yolks. 4 egg yolks will make it more firm.
ty gemma love no bake and making life easy and yummy
I don’t know what happened but mine came out more like banana pudding! I used 1% milk instead of whole milk. I thought I cooked the pudding till it was quite thick but it never fully set up. Any ideas?
Hey Gemma! Loved your recipe, just had one question. Can we substitute banana by any other fruits like mango or peaches?