Banana. [Pastry] Cream. Pie. Three things that I’m not usually psyched to see on my dessert plate. But, through the alchemy of Dorie Pixie Magic and a limitless love of sweets, no matter how mediocre, I ended up thinking this pie was pretty darn good.
I made a half recipe and made two mini deep-dish pies, because I was expecting us not to like this much and didn’t want to commit to a whole full-sized pie. I’ve actually never made a banana cream pie before (see above re: not liking the ingredients) but I gather that this recipe was fairly typical. The only changes between this and a typical banana cream pie were that the pastry cream was slightly spiced, and the whipped cream topping had a little sour cream to give it tangy richness.
I’m not a custard person, but I did like this pastry cream. It was made with brown sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg, and had a great flavor. I halved the cornstarch (because seriously, that was WAY too much cornstarch!) and the resulting texture was gorgeously smooth, like a rich pudding. (Also gorgeous? The daffodils that have remained in bloom for the better part of the week. They have nothing to do with banana cream pie and everything to do with adding a bit of eye candy to the photos.)
I added a layer of melted chocolate to the bottom of the pie crust, because a) when does chocolate not improve things? and b) these pies were so deep, I could have stuck a whole pan of fudge and a pint of ice cream in there and there would still have been room for the cream and bananas.
So after all was said, done, and tasted, we liked it pretty well. I still had my usual complaints about custard and cream-based desserts (not enough texture, too slimy in the mouth) but the flavors were great, and the pie crust is consistently excellent. So I would bookmark this to make for a banana cream pie lover, but probably won’t be revisiting it for myself any time soon.
Yeah, not an enormous fan of this one either… O well: on to the Chocolate Amaretti Torte!
Looks good to me! I love the mini pies!
Your pies are adorable!
I love that you added chocolate.
Beautiful presentation! I like the chocolate addition, too.
What a stunning presentation! Gorgeous daffodils! And chocolate!? I’d love to have that plate arrive on my table!
Oops..I just spit out my tea all over the keyboard while reading your “slime in the mouth” sentence…note to self: must be more careful while reading funny blogs.
Wow, that crust looks fantastic. This pie wasn’t a favorite of mine, either, but at least we got some nice photos out of the deal.
Since there are only 2.5 of us, I have started making minis, too. Love the chocolate in the bottom. Great idea. Looks fantastic – especially with the daff on the side.
Wow – nice presentation! I love the chocolate underfilling – I’ve seen that done with coconut pies too! Truly nice looking pies!
All these little mini pies Im seeing today are making me hungry! Your filling looks great.
They’re so cute! I love the chocolate at the bottom!
The daffodils are gorgeous! I love the deep dish pies and the layer of melted chocolate is ingenious!
Oh! You lucky woman, to get such lovely flowers to accompany your pie on those pics… assuming they were a gift, you are lucky!
But yes… flower or not, the mini deep dish is truly great looking and I’m glad you ended up liking it!
Your pies look super cute and amazingly yummy! I’m glad you attempted this pie.
I was gonna try white chocolate on the bottom but the sunlight was going down fast so I decided to skip.. I bet it tastes great!!
The chocolate layer you added was genius! And I’m with you – won’t be likely to repeat this. I’ve got some mini pie pans that I’m planning to order. Mini pies are the cutest ever.
Nancy
I love your two mini pies, they look delicious!
Yay! So glad you ended up liking this. I’m not usually a huge banana-dessert fan, but I’d be willing to try your pies–they look delicious (plus, that layer of chocolate really makes things splendid). While we’re on the subject of your deep pie crusts, can I admit that I totally would’ve eaten a pie crust filled with a pan of fudge and pint of ice cream?! That’s my type of dessert.
What a great way to incorporate chocolate- that’s always a good idea! I love the mini pies!
This look delicious! This pie was a hit at my house
Chocolate was a great addition to this pie — wish my son had thought of it!
I definitely agree that this pastry cream is pretty darn delicious!
Great idea with the chocolate. I’ve actually made this pie subbing w. a chocolate pastry cream, and it’s fantastic.
Great job Liz!
Cute little pies, love the photos with the daffodils.
I agree with you – I think this is as good as banana cream pie can possibly be. It will never be my favorite dessert, but this is a really good version of it. Love your minis and LOVE that you added chocolate. Yes, that always improves things.
This looks absolutely delicious to me…you can up the ante on banana cream pie by making a Banoffee Pie…a great favourite in England…the major difference is instead of using pastry cream you use dulche de leche..it is heavenly, there’s a recipe on my blog if anyone is interested. Thanks!
Wow, great pies! Your pie crusts are enviable. I had some issues with mine. I will definitely add chocolate to the bottom of mine if I make this again!
These are so beautiful! I love the layer of chocolate. And you always have such beautiful flowers in your photos!!!
We were lucky enough to take the leftovers home on Sunday…Tom and I LOVE banana cream pie (did you see our Pi(e) day post? Yup, banana cream). Ask me how long it lasted. Or maybe don’t, I’ll be embarrassed. Yum!
Gorgeous, yummy little pies. Glad you liked it.
Looks great! I love the addition of melted chocolate. I’m also going to try halving the cornstarch, since my custard was too thick and gloppy. Nonetheless, it tasted good.