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I love banana cream pie. I once hand-carried a whole banana cream pie on a flight from Michigan to California, just so I could enjoy it with friends at my final destination. It was a girls’ trip, and we ended up eating the pie late at night, in our PJs, straight from the tin foil pie plate, with just spoons. Now, this was many years before airline security got so tight… and long before my metabolism slowed and I started watching my waistline. But that’s true love, don’t you think?

Now, Dorie Greenspan’s Banana Cream Pie—that is heavenly. There were two reasons I thought the pie was so spectacular—and one of them was because I made a pretty significant change.

When I think of a classic banana cream pie, I think of a graham cracker crust—crumbly and sweet. From what I remember about the Good For Almost Everything Pie Dough when we used it in the Thanksgiving Twofer Pie, it was more on the buttery, flaky side. So I wanted a different crust—more like the sandy texture that you’d get from a graham cracker crust.

Luckily, I had some Sweet Tart Dough sitting in my freezer, from back in January when we made Dorie’s French Pear Tart. I had doubled the dough recipe at the time, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it. And I truly think I made the right decision. The Sweet Tart Dough mimicked the crumbly, sandy texture of graham crackers, and I think made the pie that much better. Plus, I didn’t have to make new dough :)

The other reason this pie was fantastic was the custard—it’s so incredibly thick and jiggly. It has substance; it has weight. It’s not just like a creamy pudding that you pour into a pie shell. It’s the kind of cream that won’t fall off a spoon. Plus, it was made with brown sugar and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg—the spices gave it a wonderful flavor.

I opted to forego the whipped topping, and I’m glad I did. Pure, unadulturated banana and cream flavors—now that’s a good pie.

I halved Dorie’s recipe and made a mini-pie instead—just perfect for B and me. Cut into quarters, we each had a slice after dinner, and again the next day, when it tasted even better. The flavors had melded and the bananas were perfectly suspended in the thick custard. Delicious!

Thanks for picking a great recipe, Amy! The recipe for my version of Dorie’s Banana Cream Pie is below, but for the original recipe, visit Amy’s blog, Sing for Your Supper.

Recipe: Banana Cream Pie
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

• 1 cup 2% milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar, pressed through a sieve
• 1/6 cup cornstarch, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cold Smart Balance 50/50 blend, cut into bits
• 1 large, ripe but firm banana
• 1 4.5-inch crust made with 1/2 the recipe for a single Sweet Tart Dough, fully baked and cooled

Bring milk to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well blended and thick. Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about 1/4 of the hot milk—this will temper, or warm the yolks so they won’t curdle—then, still whisking, add the remainder of the milk in a steady stream. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking constantly (make sure to get into the edges of the pan), bring the mixture to a boil. Boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes before removing from heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the custard is smooth and silky. You can either press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the custard to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the custard until cold or, if you want to cool the custard quickly (as I always do) put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and stir occasionally until the custard is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes. (If it’s more convenient, you can refrigerate the custard, tighly covered, for up to 3 days.)

When you are ready to assemble the pie, peel the bananas and cut them on a shallow diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Whisk the cold custard vigorously to loosen it, and spread about one quarter of it over the bottom of the piecrust-—it will be a thin layer. Top with half of the banana slices. Repeat, adding a thin layer of pastry cream and the remaining bananas, then smooth the rest of the pastry cream over the last layer of bananas.

Garnish with banana slices.