Bakery Famous Banana Cream Pie With Graham Cracker Crust

This Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust was a best seller at my bakery! It was hands down our most popular pie. This old fashioned Banana Cream Pie recipe uses only egg yolks for a traditional custard that is smooth and creamy. It's nestled in a homemade graham cracker crust and topped with fresh made whipped cream.

If you love homemade pie as much as I do, be sure to check out Coconut Cream Pie, Vanilla Bean Apple Pie, Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Without Eggs, or Blueberry Slab Pie Without Eggs.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

• Recipe Name: Bakery Famous Banana Cream Pie With Graham Cracker Crust
• Ready In: 4 hours 40 minutes
• Makes: 9-inch pie
• Main Ingredients: egg yolks, cane sugar, all purpose flour, bananas
• Flavor Profile: creamy banana pie, fluffy whipped cream in a buttery graham cracker crust
• Difficulty: Medium
• Why You’ll Love It: best selling banana cream pie recipe from my bakery

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Nostalgic: This is the best Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust as it's made the old fashioned way.
• Old Fashioned: I make old fashioned custard in this recipe for a true banana custard. I only use egg yolks, sugar, milk and butter. This true banana custard is stirred over the stovetop to thicken it naturally for a smooth and creamy banana custard made the old fashioned way! The time and effort will be totally worth it, I promise!
• Cool Treat: This cool treat is great for summer because this pie is served chilled. Fresh banana custard sits inside a homemade graham cracker crust and is topped with homemade whipped cream for a from scratch banana cream pie that everyone will go bananas for (sorry, I couldn't hep myself!).

If you were a regular customer at my bake shop, then our Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust is no secret to you. This was one of my top selling items, and its popularity was unmatched! So, I'm finally sharing how to make my famous banana cream pie at home!

With everyone wanting fast, quick, or easy that can lead you to skimp on tried and true techniques in favor of quicker ways to do something that may not be as good (in my opinion). While you can make custard with whole eggs or cornstarch even, I only use egg yolks, sugar, milk and butter.

If you are looking for more iconic desserts from my bakery, check out some more customer favorites like Salted Caramel Cake With Buttercream Frosting, Cookie Dough Layer Cake, Homemade True Caramel, Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies with Homemade Caramel, or Caramel Hot Cocoa.

Ingredients

If you want to create this to taste exactly like it did at my bake shop, then I highly recommend using organic ingredients and especially the ones I call out here.

• Graham Crackers: I use Annie's Organic Honey Graham Crackers, this is also what we used at my bake shop.
• Eggs: Use large eggs, so you get the right size. You'll only need the yolks. You can save the whites for Chocolate French Macarons or Green Tea French Macarons, add into your morning scramble, or cook them up for your dog so you reduce food waste.
• Milk: Use organic whole milk.
• Bananas: Use ripe organic bananas, not overly ripe as you will use pieces inside the pie and you don't want them to be super mushy.
• Cinnamon: I use organic Korintje cinnamon, which is crucial for the right flavor profile. If you were a fan of the bakery, this will make or break your pie for tasting right!
• Vanilla Extract: Use a high quality vanilla extract, like Simply Organic. This will also alter the flavor of your pie easily, as not all vanilla is the same. This is the one I used at my bake shop solely.

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Flavor Variations

• Banana Caramel: Drizzle homemade caramel true sauce on top of the custard once it's in the pie dish. Then add the whipped cream on top for a caramel banana cream pie. This was known as our Banana Caramel Cream Pie flavor.
• Add Nuts: Add in chopped walnuts, pecans, or peanuts into the custard.
• Chocolate Banana: If you were a fan of our Chocolate Banana Cream Pie flavor, then you'll want to use Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust from Scratch instead of the regular crust. Add in some semi sweet chocolate chips when you fold in the banana slices. And, drizzle homeamde chocolate ganache on top of the custard once it's in the pie dish. Then add the whipped cream on top and voilà!

Baker's Tips for Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

• Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
• Make sure to separate your egg yolks and whites. We don't want any egg whites in this custard, so be careful not to break the yolks so you can easily get them into the mixing bowl. You can save the leftover egg whites and use for something like Chocolate Pistachio French Macarons.
• When cooking the custard, make sure to use a high heat spatula. This sits over the stovetop for a little bit, so you can damage a regular spatula and it will be come warped if it's not made for high heat.
• When cooking custard, the trick is to stir it consistently. You don't need to stir it vigorously the entire time or so hard that your arm hurts. But, it does need to be stirred evenly and consistently. Make sure you are stirring and scraping every inch of the bottom of your pot. If you miss a spot, that is where clumps can form, so try to feel for this with your spatula.
• Make sure to use a very ripe banana for the banana that gets mixed into the custard. When bananas are very ripe, their starches have turned to sugars, therefore making them more flavorful. So, just like banana bread – those overly ripe bananas are going to be best for the inside of this custard. Contrary, the additional 2 bananas that you will slice and mix into the custard, are bananas that you will taste the texture of in the pie. So, those bananas should be prime and not too mushy, as you want a good texture when you take a bite.
• This pie is best when eaten right away. But, if you have to store it, then be sure to store it in the fridge covered, or in an airtight container. You can use plastic wrap to cover the pie dish, of you can put the slices into a Tupperware, but it will dry out if it is not airtight.

How to Make Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 2

To make the crust: In a food processor, add the graham crackers, butter, and cane sugar. Pulse, and then mix until you have a uniform mixture and there are no chunks of graham cracker or butter.

Grease a 9-inch pie pan with butter. Transfer the graham cracker mixture to the pie pan, and lightly press it to the sides first. Use the remaining crust, and press it down into the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 5 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

Step 3

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg yolks and cane sugar. Whisk on low for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightened in color. Add in the flour and whisk to combine completely.

Heat the milk to 140°F. Once the milk has heated, turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the warm milk into the egg mixture. Once completely combined, stop the mixer.

Step 4

In a clean saucepan (do not use the one the milk was heated in, incase milk stuck to the bottom, that will burn if used without cleaning), pour in the egg mixture. Put over low/medium heat.

Continue to heat while continuously stirring with a high heat spatula by scraping the bottoms and the sides. The mixture will start to rise and may bubble, continue to stir. The mixture will start to thicken, and continue to stir. The trick is to keep stirring so clumps do not form, as you want a smooth custard. If you see clumps beginning to form, stir vigorously and they will dissolve.

Continue to stir until the custard coats the spatula and does not drip off when you lift it from the pot. The whole process should take around 20 minutes. Remove the pot from heat.

Step 5

Add in the butter, and stir to combine completely. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, muddle the 1 very ripe banana and add the vanilla extract and cinnamon. Pour the custard into the bowl over the banana mixture, and stir to combine completely. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight (no need to cover it).

Step 6

To assemble the pie: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the heavy whipping cream, cane sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low and gradually increase the speed as the whipped cream starts to thicken, until you are full speed. Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Step 7

Reserve half of the whipped cream (8 ounces or about 1 cup) for the topping and set aside. Add in about half (4 ounces) of the remaining whipped cream and fold to combine, then add in the other half (4 ounces) of the remaining whipped cream, and fold to combine completely.

Slice the 2 bananas into thin slices and stir into the banana and cream mixture until combined evenly.

Transfer the banana and cream mixture to the pie crust, and spread evenly. Top with the remaining 8 ounces of whipped cream.

Recipe FAQ's

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