GLUTEN FREE BANANA CREAM PIE

 

Posted by Gluten Free Baking Bear aka Bryna Bear

     I had some extremely ripe bananas.  Though I do love banana bread, I just wanted to do something different with these bananas. 

     I have Betty Crocker’s Pie and Pastry Cookbook (copyright 1968) that was a gift from a high school classmate.  It is quite well worn, as evidenced by the covers that are separated from the rest of the book and the food stains all over the pages.  This book has served me well.  I learned how to make every type of piecrust, apple pie, pumpkin pie and many other pies from this book.  Back then I did not know that I was allergic to wheat and used the recipes as written.  Now I still use these tried and true recipes, but with GF flours and xanthan gum. One of the things I appreciate about this book is that all of the recipes are from scratch.  No “use a box of this mix” or “a can of that filling”, just how to make fillings, crusts and toppings with fresh ingredients.

     The banana cream pies I made always had graham cracker crusts.  Now I make a cookie crust with gluten free cookies.  Next time I might use the tart crust recipe from the Peach Tart post on my Blog last month. The tart crust is a little more tender than the cookie crust; both recipes taste great.

     The pastry cream I tried at the Culinary Institute GF baking class a few months ago was the best I had ever tasted; so I decided to use that recipe which is in the Gluten Free Baking with The Culinary Institute of America cookbook by Chef Richard Coppedge, Jr. (page140).

     I served the pie at dinner with two friends and the leftovers were eaten at a meeting the next night.  Everyone loved this pie.  I especially enjoyed it, as it had been a long time since I made (or even ate) Banana Cream Pie.

     I just whipped up some cream for the topping.  For a Southern take on this pie you could use meringue topping (and vanilla cookie crust).

GLUTEN FREE BANANA CREAM PIE

From GFbakingbear.com

Crust

Ingredients

1 ½ cups	GF Cookie Crumbs
¼ cup	Butter, melted or (for Dairy Free) Oil
½ tsp.	Xanthan or Guar Gum
1/8 tsp.	Cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I use a Gluten Free cookies such as these to make the crust.

To make crumbs put cookies in a plastic bag and
crush them with a rolling pin.

     Put all ingredients into a 9-inch pie pan and mix well (I use my hands).  Press crumb mixture down evenly and firmly along the bottom and side of the pan.

Unbaked crust.

     Bake for 10 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

     Cool on a rack.

Baked Crust

Filling/Custard

Ingredients

2 large	Ripe Bananas, sliced
3	Egg Yolks
2 cups	Whole Milk, divided
½ cup	Sugar, divided
5 Tbs.	Cornstarch
3 Tbs.	Butter
½ tsp.	Vanilla Extract

Directions

     Mix together Egg Yolks, ½ cup Milk, ¼ cup Sugar and all the Cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.

     In a saucepan put the remaining sugar first, then add the rest of the milk.  Bring to a boil over moderate heat.

     To temper the egg mixture, add ¼ cup of the heated milk mixture to the eggs and stir.  Keep adding hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, ¼ cup at a time; stir well after each addition, until ¼ of the hot milk mixture is blended into the egg mixture.

     All at one time, pour the egg mixture into the pan with the simmering milk mixture.  Whisk continually until it comes to a boil and begins to thicken.  Remove pan from heat.

     Stir in Butter and Vanilla Extract.

     Pour custard into a wide shallow baking pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and then press the plastic onto the surface of the custard. This will prevent a ‘skin’ from forming on the top.

     Cool completely in refrigerator before using. 

     Stir custard after it is cooled to make it smooth before filling the pre-baked piecrust.

Topping

Ingredients

1 cup	Heavy Cream
1 Tbs.	Confectioner’s Sugar

Directions

     Whip Heavy Cream until slightly thickened.  Add sugar (check sweetness and add more sugar if desired) and continue whipping until desired consistency.

To Assemble Pie

     Arrange Banana slices along bottom of piecrust.

     Put custard on top of layer of banana slices and smooth with a spatula.  Be sure to cover banana slices completely with the custard to prevent them from turning color.

Custard covering sliced bananas in piecrust.

     Top custard filling with the whipped cream.  Slice and serve.  You can garnish the pie with shaved chocolate if you wish.

GF Banana Cream Pie

GLUTEN FREE BANANA CREAM PIE From GFbakingbear.com Crust Ingredients 1 ½ cups GF Cookie Crumbs ¼ cup Butter, melted or (for Dairy Free) Oil ½ tsp. Xanthan or Guar Gum 1/8 tsp. Cinnamon Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients into a 9-inch pie pan and mix well (I use my hands). Press crumb mixture down evenly and firmly along the bottom and side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a rack. Filling Ingredients 2 large Ripe Bananas, sliced 3 Egg Yolks 2 cups Whole Milk, divided ½ cup Sugar, divided 5 Tbs. Cornstarch 3 Tbs. Butter ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract Custard Directions Mix together Egg Yolks, ½ cup Milk, ¼ cup Sugar and all the Cornstarch in a bowl and set aside. In a saucepan put the remaining sugar first, then add the rest of the milk. Bring to a boil over moderate heat. To temper the egg mixture, add ¼ cup of the heated milk mixture to the eggs and stir. Keep adding hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, ¼ cup at a time; stir well after each addition, until ¼ of the hot milk mixture is blended into the egg mixture. All at one time, pour the egg mixture into the pan with the simmering milk mixture. Whisk continually until it comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Remove pan from heat. Stir in Butter and Vanilla Extract. Pour custard into a wide shallow baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and then press the plastic onto the surface of the custard. This will prevent a ‘skin’ from forming on the top. Cool completely in refrigerator before using. Stir custard after it is cooled to make it smooth before filling the pre-baked piecrust. Topping Ingredients 1 cup Heavy Cream 1 Tbs. Confectioner’s Sugar Directions Whip Heavy Cream until slightly thickened. Add sugar (check sweetness and add more sugar if desired) and continue whipping until desired consistency. To Assemble Pie Arrange Banana slices along bottom of piecrust. Put custard on top of layer of banana slices and smooth with a spatula. Be sure to cover banana slices completely with the custard to prevent them from turning color. Top custard filling with the whipped cream. Slice and serve. You can garnish the pie with shaved chocolate if you wish.

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