Strawberry Banana Cream Pie

This is to die for. Well, don't die...but if it is the very last thing you eat before you die, you are SET!

Now, if it is one thing I like to make and eat as a sweet treat, it would be pie. It is the top choice of desserts for my husband too.

Pie is versatile. Make it for any time of the year, not just for the holidays. Having said that, every Thanksgiving I make between 8-10 different pies for dessert. Obviously, that is a popular time of year for pie.

This pie is not difficult to make. Yes, a little time consuming (with the cooling and chilling), but all in all...not bad. And let me tell you~A HUGE HIT! I made this for a party my Mom threw while I was visiting Maryland. Her friend Steve helped me slice and serve the pie...while I took pictures. Thanks Steve!

A family member said "This pie is amazing. Even the crust...I can't stop eating it". Or if you wanted to, you could eat some for dessert one night and have some for breakfast the next morning. That is what I did. It was even good for Breakfast!

Oh. Oh. Oh! You have to try this pie! I took 18 pictures...step by step, so you won't miss ANYTHING! AND I added a bit of my favorite spice to the custard...Cinnamon! It is perfect! Well, nothing is perfect. Life isn't perfect. This pie isn't perfect, such as cracks in the crust etc. But it seems pretty close to perfect (if there was such a thing).

So don't delay. Take a bite out of this pie!
* Adapted by Joy the Baker. My cousin asked me today, where I got most of my recipes. Here is the answer. About 50% are my original recipes. 40% are recipes I change and make my own, but get ideas from others or cookbooks. And 10% are recipes I follow (this is one I followed, although I did add the cinnamon).  

Filling:

2 cups whole milk OR (1 cup whole milk and 1 cup 1%...that is what I used)
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 ripe bananas, sliced
10 fresh strawberries, sliced

Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoons (9 tablespoons) unsalted cutter, cold or frozen, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk

To make the Crust:

Put the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Throw in the pieces of cold butter over the dry ingredients and pulse again until the butter is combined. There will be different sizes of butter (on the larger size=peas). Now, beat the egg yolk a little with a fork and add it to the flour mixture. Pulse for a few seconds at a time. When the egg is in, process in longer pulses until the dough forms clumps and starts to stick together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and very gently,  knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that may have not blended in the mixing process. *When you knead, the heat from your hands will melt the butter a little, so that is why it is good to knead gently and not over knead, if possible. The chunks of butter in the dough will make for a lighter and flakier crust.

Before adding egg (it needs to be pulled together more)

Prepare a pie pan or tart pan. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and the sides of the pan. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking.

 

This is a pie pan, or you could use a tart pan.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter the shiny side of a piece of foil and fit the foil, butter side down, tightly against the frozen crust. Put the crust in oven and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil after 15 minutes. If the crust is puffed, gently press it down with your fingers. Bake uncovered for 8 to 10 more minutes on the baking sheet. Keep an eye on the crust. It will brown quickly. *If needed, wrap strips of foil around the edges of the pie crust (it will brown the fastest and covering it will help it from cooking too fast).

I doubled the recipe.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before adding the filling.
To make the filling:

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

In a large saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the brown sugar and cinnamon, cornstarch and salt until well blended and thick.

Whisking without stopping, drizzle about 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, warming the eggs so they don’t cook and curdle. Still whisking, slowly add the rest of the hot milk in a steady steam.

Place the pan over medium heat and, whisking constantly (make sure to get the edges of the pan), bring the mixture to a boil. Boil, still whisking for one minute before removing from the pan from the heat. Mixture will be thick and silky. Be warned, once the mixture starts to boil, it will thicken very quickly. If needed, remove the pan from the heat to whisk it smooth.

Whisk in the vanilla extract and the butter, stirring until fully incorporated and the custard is smooth and silky. Transfer custard to a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic touches the surface of the custard and refrigerate until cold. Custard can be refrigerated up to three days.

If you are wondering..."wow that is a lot of butter".
Well, I doubled the recipe and made 2 pies.

When ready to assemble the pie, slice bananas and strawberries and place in bottom of pie crust.

See the cracks in the crust? Nothing is perfect.

Whisk the cold custard to loosen. Add 1 banana sliced. Stir.

Mix.

Top the banana's and strawberries with banana custard. Smooth out a refrigerate while you make the whipped cream.

Dump and Smooth.

For the topping:

With a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, spoon whipped cream onto banana cream pie filling. Top with sliced strawberries and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Serve pie immediately or refrigerate for a few hours before serving. This pie is best served the day it is made because the banana's will turn slightly with time, but it is still wonderful the next day! Enjoy!

Ooooo Num Num. 1 pie for me, 1 slice for you...I mean, errr...
a slice of pie for us both. And then maybe one for breakfast!