Vanilla Bean Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups cups (150g) All-purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp tbsp Granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp tsp Fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup cup (113g) Very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 3-4 tbsp tbsp Ice water
• 1/2 tsp tsp Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 2 cups cups (480ml) Whole milk
• 1/2 cup cup (120ml) Heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cup (100g) Granulated sugar
• 5 yolks Large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cup (32g) Cornstarch
• 2 tbsp tbsp (28g) Unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp tbsp Vanilla bean paste
• 1 tsp tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp tsp Fine sea salt
• 4-5 bananas Ripe but firm bananas
• 2 tbsp tbsp Dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp tbsp Unsalted butter
• 1 tsp tsp Lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups cups (360ml) Heavy cream
• 3 tbsp tbsp Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp tsp Vanilla bean paste
• 1 pinch pinch Fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Prepare half batch of all-butter pie crust. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter until crumbly. Add vinegar to ice water. Drizzle in just enough liquid for dough to hold together. Form into disk, wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Roll crust and fit into 9-inch pie plate. Blind bake fully until crisp and golden. Cool completely.
3. Prepare vanilla bean pastry cream: Heat milk and cream until steaming.
4. Whisk sugar, yolks, cornstarch, and salt in a separate bowl.
5. Temper gradually with hot dairy, whisking constantly. Return to saucepan.
6. Cook while whisking until thick and bubbling. Cook approximately 1 additional minute.
7. Remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla paste, and vanilla. Transfer to shallow container. Cover surface directly with film. Chill thoroughly.
8. Prepare caramelized banana layer: Lightly cook approximately 1 banana with butter and brown sugar until just caramelized. Mash lightly. Cool completely. Do NOT cook all bananas — use only this thin layer for depth.
9. Slice remaining bananas fresh.
10. Assembly: Spread very thin caramelized banana layer over crust. Add a shallow layer of pastry cream. Arrange fresh banana slices. Cover completely with remaining pastry cream to reduce oxidation.
11. Chill thoroughly, at least 4 hours.
12. Whip cream with powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt to soft-medium peaks. Finish shortly before serving.

Nutrition

Chef's Notes

Texture target: flaky crust, silky pastry cream, fresh banana, soft whipped cream. NOT boxed pudding, banana-flavored instant mix, or artificial banana flavor. Must be refrigerated. Best quality approximately 3-4 days. Do not strongly recommend freezing assembled pie — bananas and pastry cream can suffer texturally.

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