Banana Cream Pie – Freezer Recipe

Learn how to properly make your own Make-Ahead Banana Cream Pie that can be frozen for fast dessert preparation.

You’ll Need:

• 2/3 c. Sugar
• 1/4 c. Cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 c. Cold Milk
• 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2 T. butter, room temperature
• 3 tsp Vanilla
• 2 tsp Banana Extract (available in the baking section of the grocery store)

Mix sugar, cornstarch & salt in a heavy 2 qt saucepan, stirring well, add in cold milk, whisking continually over medium heat.

Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Boil for exactly 1 minute.

Remove from heat, pour approximately half of the mixture in the beaten eggs, mixing (fast!) and thoroughly. (This process is called Tempering) Pour the tempered egg/mix back into the saucepan.
Boil and stir 1 full minute.

Remove from Heat, stir in butter, banana extract, and vanilla, mixing well.
]Place on a cooling rack for 16-18 minutes. Do NOT cool for too long as a film will form on the top of the filling.

Carefully spoon into a vacuum seal bag. (It’s quite helpful to fold down the top of the bag to prevent a mess from getting on the edge of the bag, preventing a good seal.)

If you don’t have any help holding the bags, it’s helpful to place them in a dish with rolled hand towels between each bag to hold them steady for easy filling.

In this photo, we divided this batch of filling in half.

Vacuum Seal the Warm Filling, try to remove as many air bubbles as possible. Label & Toss it into the freezer.

To Use the filling

• Remove it from the Freezer and place in the refrigerator. DO Not attempt to thaw this on the countertop- for several reasons- it contains milk, butter and eggs (which can spoil), thawing on the counter will cause the filling to separate.
• Thaw in the fridge- 1 full size package takes approximately 6 hours to thaw completely. (Of course, this is entirely dependent on the temperature of your fridge!)
• Prepare your favorite pie shell (prepared pastry shell, phyllo shell, or crumb crust, as desired.
• Layer the bottom of the prepared pie crust with 2 layers of sliced bananas.
• Pour the contents of the bag into a mixing bowl, mix well by hand until creamy & smooth, spoon over bananas in prepared crust.
• Smooth the top, Add Fresh Whipped Cream! Garnish with Banana Slices, if desired. Serve Immediately

To Create Banana Cream Pie Bites– as pictured in the top photo, make tiny tart shells (using phyllo dough), add a slice of banana to the bottom, a spoonful of banana cream pie filling, a dollop of whipped cream and garnish with a banana slice. Serve immediately.