Acute How-To: Banana Cream Caramel Pie

I absolutely love banana cream pie but I am not a big fan of traditional piecrust.  So, I created a cookie crust that is soft, slightly sweet and super easy to work with {unlike piecrust, which can be a little fussy}.

There are a few steps involved in this recipe so you might want to save it for a weekend or special occasion.  Enjoy!

Step One: Make the custard filling

The first thing you are going to do is make the custard part of the pie.  In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 cup milk {I use non-fat} and 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour.  Add in one egg and ¼ cup of sugar and continue to whisk until well combined.

Set the pan over medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and then lower heat and continue to stir for about 30 seconds or until the mixture has thickened.  When you are stirring make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan and the sides….you don’t want the egg  to sit there and begin to scramble.

Pour the filling into a bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes.   Once it is cool enough to touch, cover with plastic wrap {so that the plastic is touching the filling} and set in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Step Two: Make the crust

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups of all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt – set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together ½ cup butter, 1 cup white sugar, and 2 eggs.

When the sugar/butter/eggs are well combined, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Your dough will be a little crumbly, so work it together with your hand and lay it out on a clean surface. I always cover my surface in wax or parchment paper because this dough is sticky.

Use your hand to form the dough into a disc and place the disc into a greased pie dish.  Work the dough around the dish and up the sides.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Remove pie dish from the over and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

Step Three: Layer the caramel and bananas

I like to do this step when the pie crust is still slightly warm because it makes spreading the caramel so much easier.

Use a jar of caramel sauce and spread about 2 heaping tablespoons all over the warm crust.  Next place banana slices all over the top of the caramel {about 1 large banana}.

Set aside and allow to completely cool.

Step Four: Add the custard and whipped cream

Once the pie crust has completely cooled, spread the custard filling all over the bananas.  Finally, pipe a ring of whipped cream all around the edge of the pan.

Put the pie in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat.  This pie will last a few days {covered} in the refrigerator.