This pie is like classic banana pudding —except it has a crust made with vanilla wafers and fits in a pie dish. It also seems to have a longer shelf life than a regular banana pudding…that is if it doesn’t get eaten right away!
The usual cookies scattered throughout banana pudding are concentrated in a buttery crust, followed by a layer of sliced bananas, a pudding layer, and a whipped-topping layer.
Topping decoration, if any, is up to you. This pie has white chocolate “petals” inserted into the pie.
Heat the white chocolate until melted, then add yellow food coloring. Place a dollop of melted chocolate on a sheet of parchment paper. Press a spoon back into the dollop and pull it back to form a petal. You can eyeball the dollops to make a rustic petal or use a piping bag and make equal-sized dollops for a very controlled and symmetrical look. This pie has over forty petals with a cookie in the center.
The chocolate petals actually look a lot like banana chips. You can also place plenty of other things on this pie to decorate it. Just use your imagination or leave the top plain. It tastes great either way!
Banana Pudding Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch pie dish
- parchment paper (optional)
- spoon (optional)
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients
- 2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed (measure after crushing)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Pudding Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- â…› teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Toppings
- 2-3 medium bananas
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 8-ounce container whipped topping
- 1 small bag white chocolate chips or wafers (optional)
- yellow food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Crust
- Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, brown sugar, and salt. Stir to mix. Then add the melted butter and mix. Place the crumb mixture in the pie dish and use a small, flat-bottomed cup to press it into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared dish.
- Freeze the mixture for 15 minutes until set.
Pudding
- Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy saucepan. In a blender or food processor, combine the milk and egg, and blend until the egg is thoroughly beaten.
- Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Let cool. You can place a piece of plastic wrap over the pudding to prevent the top from skimming over.
Assembly
- In a bowl, cut the bananas into rounds and sprinkle with lemon juice, stirring to thoroughly coat and prevent browning. Drain off any excess lemon juice. Place the bananas in a single flat layer on the crust. Follow with the pudding. Let the pudding cool, and then spread the whipped topping on top.
Petals
- In a microwave-safe bowl, place 1 cup of white chocolate chips and microwave in 30-second increments until melted. Stir between intervals. Add yellow food coloring and stir.
- Place 1-inch drops on parchment paper, then place the back of a spoon on each drop and pull the chocolate to form a petal. Repeat until you create as many petals as you want to form a flower. The pie in the photo has over 40 petals.
- Freeze the petals for 15 minutes until hard. Gently pull petals off the parchment paper. Place a vanilla wafer in the center of the pie and push the petals into the pie around the center cookie, making the flower as large as you want.