Citrus, Sugar, and Spice

Layers of graham cracker crust, bananas, bourbon-infused pastry cream, more bananas, drizzled bourbon caramel sauce, and whipped cream make for a delicious banana cream pie with balanced sweetness and a warm hint of bourbon.

I have always been intimidated, if not terrified, by making pastry cream. I don’t know if it’s the risk of ending up with sweet scrambled eggs, or it not setting, or needing to sieve out “lumps,” but I have generally shied away from the challenge in favor of something that I can instead just throw in the oven. I’ve told myself that I wasn’t missing out, but eventually my lie wore thin. It took me a few tries to get the result I wanted (more on that below), but the results are worth the effort, opening up endless uses and possibilities. Which brings us to today’s banana bourbon cream pie.

When learning new things, I would much rather try to run before learning to walk. Or crawl. So when I decided to face my fear of pastry cream, I went straight to flavoring the cream with something in additional to just vanilla. My first attempt at pastry cream appeared to go smoothly. I added the bourbon with the milk and vanilla, and when I tasted it before putting it in the fridge to firm up, I was in love. Three hours later, my pastry cream was still nothing more than a (delicious) liquid. I put it back on the stove, turned the heat up, and stirred constantly while adding a slurry made up of an additional 2 tablespoons each of corn starch and milk. This time, I allowed the cream to get hotter and stay hotter a bit longer before sieving the mixture into a bowl. It was much thicker, but it also lost much of the bourbon flavor. I stirred in an additional tablespoon, applied the plastic wrap, and moved it back to the fridge.

Meanwhile, I made another attempt at the pastry cream, this time, withholding the bourbon (I planned to add it at the end), only using 2 cups of milk, and using 5 tablespoons of cornstarch. Obviously I did something wrong because a bit curdled in the mixing bowl, and then the whole thing basically solidified once I got it all back on the heat. There was no way it could be salvaged, so I didn’t bother wasting the bourbon on that disaster. At this point, I called it a day. After a bit more trial and error over the following weeks, adding a couple extra egg yolks, and the help of Mary Berry’s Prinsesstårta recipe, I finally got the taste and consistency I was after. This pastry cream can be made with or without the bourbon, and can be used in all sorts of pies, pastries, and cakes.

One of the nice things about bananas, aside from potassium and other wonderful nutrients, is that they are available year round. This can be a refreshing pie for a nice summer day, or a Thanksgiving pie for when you feel like adding in something other than the classic pumpkin. And the addition of bourbon adds a pleasant but subtle surprise.

The bourbon and vanilla in the pastry cream are a match made in heaven. 2 tablespoons of bourbon result in a nice light bourbon undertone, while 3 tablespoons allow you to taste the bourbon against the bananas and cream, without it being overpowering. The pastry cream isn’t too sweet because the caramel bourbon topping adds additional sweetness, but you could certainly add a bit more sugar if you prefer a sweeter pastry cream. I don’t use banana extract in the pastry cream in favor of letting the bourbon and vanilla shine. But the banana flavor is not missed with a first layer of bananas at the bottom of the pie, a second layer over the pastry cream, and then a few more on top to garnish the pie.

Then there’s that second bit of bourbon mixed into a rich and delicious caramel sauce. Prior attempts at this pie left me feeling like something was missing. While the pie is still great without this step, the drizzled caramel really adds something and rounds out the pie. It’s easy to make, but requires your attention while it changes from sugar water into caramel sauce. Watching the pot will feel like the longest 15 minutes of your life, but you’ll be happy you did it. Last, or maybe first, is the crunch of the buttery graham cracker crust. I love the crunch that a graham cracker crust adds almost as much as I love how easy they are to make.

The combined result is a beautiful banana cream pie with a light hit of bourbon in the middle, balanced nicely by the creamy texture, caramel bourbon drizzle, and fresh bananas.

Print Recipe

Banana Bourbon Cream Pie

Layers of a crunchy graham cracker crust, bananas, pastry cream, more bananas, whipped cream, caramel bourbon sauce, and a few more bananas makes this a creamy crunchy treat with a twist of bourbon.

Course

Dessert

Keyword

banana, banana bourbon cream pie, banana cream pie, bourbon, creme patissiere, egg yolks, pastry cream, pie

Servings

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 3/4 cups graham crackers about 12 cookies
• 8 tablespoons butter unsalted, 1 stick
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Pastry Cream

• 600 ml whole milk (2 2/3 cups or about 20 ounces)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 6 large egg yolks
• 100 grams sugar 1/2 cup
• 50 grams cornstarch just shy of 7 tablespoons, but better to scale measure
• 50 grams butter about 3 1/2 tablespoons

Topping

• 3 ripe bananas thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Caramel Bourbon Drizzle

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons bourbon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• small pinch salt

Course Dessert Keyword banana, banana bourbon cream pie, banana cream pie, bourbon, creme patissiere, egg yolks, pastry cream, pie Servings Ingredients Crust 1 3/4 cups graham crackers about 12 cookies 8 tablespoons butter unsalted, 1 stick 3 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt Pastry Cream 600 ml whole milk (2 2/3 cups or about 20 ounces) 2 teaspoons vanilla 3 tablespoons bourbon 6 large egg yolks 100 grams sugar 1/2 cup 50 grams cornstarch just shy of 7 tablespoons, but better to scale measure 50 grams butter about 3 1/2 tablespoons Topping 3 ripe bananas thinly sliced 3/4 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons sugar Caramel Bourbon Drizzle 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons water 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 tablespoon butter 2 teaspoons bourbon 1 teaspoon vanilla small pinch salt

Instructions

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt the butter down in a saucepan over low heat. Turn off the heat once butter is melted, or mostly melted.
3. In a food processor, or very diligently by hand, blitz the graham crackers until they're uniform-sized crumbs. Mix in sugar and salt.
4. Stir crumb mixture into saucepan of butter. Transfer well-stirred mixture into pie pan, gently pressing the crust up the sides of the dish first, then firmly pressing in the middle.

   
5. Bake the crust for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Remove to cool completely and set aside until later

Pastry Cream

1. Bring milk to a light simmer.

   
2. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together in a large bowl.
3. While continuing to whisk the egg yolk mixture, very slowly stream in about a quarter of the scalding hot milk mixture. If you pour too quickly, you could end up with scrambled eggs. Slowly pouring in the mixture will temper the eggs so that they cook slowly and evenly. Continue pouring the remaining milk while continuing to whisk it all together.
4. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the pan over a low to medium-low heat. If you want to be extra diligent, you can pour it in through a fine mesh strainer.
5. While stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer until it becomes really thick, about a minute or two.
6. Off the heat and quickly stir in the bourbon and vanilla.
7. Using the fine mesh strainer, pour the mixture into a clean bowl. Stir in the butter. Once the butter has been incorporated, cover the mixture with plastic wrap, with the plastic wrap touching the top to prevent a skin from forming.

   
8. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours allowing it to cool and firm up.

Caramel Bourbon Drizzle

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Be careful not to stir the mixture, but swirl the pot around regularly for roughly 15 minutes. Keep watching the mixture as it slowly turns from clear, to lightly amber, to darker amber shades. Once the color starts to darken, it happens quickly and you'll want to off the heat before it goes brown (burnt). Have your cream and butter ready to go.

   
2. Once the caramel is a dark amber, slowly add the cream and butter while stirring quickly and constantly.

   
3. Bring pan back to a low heat and add the vanilla, bourbon, and salt, cooking for another minute.
4. Pour the caramel into a small heat-proof bowl to cool. The mixture will thicken as it cools, but if it is still too runny, simply put it back in the pot and cook it over a low heat for a few more minutes so that some of the moisture cooks off.

Topping and Assembly

1. Slice the bananas to about quarter inch thickness. Assemble a layer of bananas on the crust and up the sides of the crust.

   
2. Pour the pastry cream over the layers of bananas, and smooth it out to create a nice even surface.

   
3. Assemble another layer of bananas over the pastry cream.

   
4. Whip the cream and sugar together until soft peaks form.
5. Drizzle the cooled caramel bourbon sauce over the banana layer.
6. Decoratively pipe the whipped cream over the top of the banana and caramel layer, or smooth it over the top with a dome in the middle if you don't have the piping tips, time, or patience for piping.
7. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving. Garnish with additional caramel sauce and leftover bananas. Enjoy!