Banana Cream Pie
A blind-baked shell layered with pastry cream and cold raw banana, topped with whipped cream.
Makes 1 9-inch pie · Prep 30 min
Ingredients
Shell
- 1 Sweet tart shell, blind-baked and cooled
Filling
- 2 1/2 cups Pastry cream, chilled
- 3 Bananas, sliced — ripe but firm, not overripe
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice — tossed with the banana slices to slow browning
Topping
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy cream, cold
- 1/3 cup Icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Assemble
- Spread a thin layer of the chilled pastry cream in the bottom of the cooled shell.
- Toss the banana slices gently with the lemon juice, then layer them over the pastry cream. (Tip: A quick acid toss slows the same enzymatic browning that darkens a cut apple, though it won't stop it indefinitely.)
- Spread the remaining pastry cream over the bananas, covering them completely. (Tip: Fully covering the fruit also helps by limiting its exposure to air, which is what actually drives the browning reaction.)
Topping
- Whip the cream, icing sugar, and vanilla to soft peaks and spread or pipe over the top.
Chill
- Chill at least an hour before slicing, and serve the same day. (Tip: This isn't a make-ahead dessert — the bananas continue to soften and darken even under the covering layers as time passes.)
Tips
- Bananas darkened despite the lemon juice: Some browning over several hours is normal even with the acid treatment — it slows the reaction rather than stopping it. Assemble as close to serving as practical for the best appearance.
- Use bananas that are ripe but still firm: Overripe, very soft bananas turn mushy fast once sliced and layered; a banana that's just turned fully yellow with minimal spotting holds its shape and texture noticeably better in this application.