If you are looking for the perfect dessert, look no farther! We love making this incredible pie for every holiday in the Spring and Summer. It is so light and refreshing! Plus, you will never have a more delicious crust.
If you don’t love bananas or just want to switch it up, you can also make this into a chocolate pie. Follow all the same instructions, except these changes:
Increase sugar to 1 cup. Add 3 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate in with the milk. Pour into baked and cooled pastry shell. Set and serve with whip cream.
Prepare ice water: fill a medium bowl with ice, some water and let sit while preparing dough.
Stir flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut in cold diced butter and shorteing with a pastry blender or work by hand until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Pour in half the ice water. Mix with a fork and pour in the rest. Stir with a fork until it comes together. Gather dough into a ball by hand.
Move dough to a lightly floured surface and flatten with palm until about 1 inch thick. (If time permits, wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This helps dough not shrink. May also freeze dough for up to 2 months.) Sprinkle a little flour onto surface. Put a little flour on rolling pin and roll dough. Be careful not to push down so hard that dough tears or sticks to surface. While rolling out dough, gently make quarter turns to form a large round. Make sure to have enough flour underneath so that dough does not stick to surface.
Get out a 9 inch pie plate, preferably glass. Roll dough up onto rolling pin. Carefully unroll dough evenly over top of pie plate. Press down around the inside so it is firmly in place. Flute as desired. Poke holes in the bottom of dough and around the sides with a fork, so crust will not bubble up as it bakes. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until crust turns slightly brown around edges. Cool on a wire rack.
Banana Cream Filling
Seperate egg yolks, discard the whites and place yolks in a small bowl. Beat yolks slightly with a fork. Set aside.
Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a large heavy saucepan on top of stove. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until it starts bubbling up. Cook at least 2-3 more minutes and take off the stove.
Stir in 3 Tbsp of hot mixture into beaten egg yolks. Immediately return this mixture to the hot mixture. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantely. Remove from heat.
Add butter and vanilla. Mix well. Let sit for 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
Pour hot mixture into cooled baked pastry shell. Place in refrigerator to cool and set for 3-4 hours.
When pudding is set, make the whip cream. (May also prepare whip cream in advance and keep refrigerated in a small stainless bowl of ice. Cover with plastic. This will hold for up to 12 hours.) With hand-held electric beaters and using a stainless bowl, beat the whip cream until half whipped. Add sugar and vanilla, continue beating until soft peaks form. Slice 2-3 bananas and place on top of cooled pudding. Spread cream over bananas and serve. May also add sliced bananas on top.
