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Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

This peanut butter banana cream pie is a delicious way to get your peanut butter and banana fix!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Cooling time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 52 minutes
Servings 8
Author Kelsie

Ingredients

Pastry Cream:

  • Half a vanilla bean
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tabxlespoons whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature and cut into chunks
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Peanut butter banana layer:

  • 1 9- inch pie crust a single crust, not double
  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts coarsely chopped
  • 3 medium bananas ripe but not too brown

Cream topping:

  • 1 cup heavy cream very cold
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • additional salted peanuts for garnish if desired

Instructions

Pastry Cream:

  1. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a paring knife. Reserve the seeds; place the pod in a small saucepan with the milk and heavy cream. Set pan aside.
  2. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in a small mixing bowl. Add the egg yolks and vanilla bean seeds; whisk vigorously for several minutes, until ingredients are well combined and the egg yolks are smooth and pale yellow. (This is your pre-pie eating workout.)
  3. Set the pan with the milk and heavy cream over medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture just begins to steam and bubble a bit around the edges of the pan.
  4. Remove pan from the heat and gradually add about a 1/2 cup of the warm mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Whisk to combine, then pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and set pan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. (This will happen fairly quickly so don’t turn your back on the pan.) If the mixture seems to be getting too hot, remove it from the heat briefly or lower the heat.
  5. Allow mixture to boil for 1 minute, still whisking constantly. The pastry cream should be very thick; if it hasn’t thickened continue cooking and whisking. Remove from the heat and pour pastry cream into a small mixing bowl. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Stir the pastry cream to release some of the heat and cool it to between 140 and 150 degrees. (I used a candy thermometer to measure the temp.)
  6. Place the pastry cream in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until butter is fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and salt and pulse to combine.
  7. Transfer the pastry cream to a clean bowl and place it over another bowl filled with ice water. Allow the pastry cream to cool to room temperature over the bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream and refrigerate until completely cool, 3 to 4 hours.

Peanut butter banana layer:

  1. Blind bake your pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan according to the directions on the box. Cool pie crust completely before filling.
  2. Once crust is cool, place the peanut butter and butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat until the peanut butter is somewhat liquid-y—you want to be able to spread it easily. Stir in the sugar until combined, then pour the mixture into the cooled crust. Top with salted peanuts. Refrigerate until the peanut butter sets up, about 20 minutes.
  3. Slice the bananas into 1/4-inch slices. Top the peanut butter layer with half of the bananas. Spread the cooled pastry cream on top of the bananas and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Top with the remaining bananas.

Topping:

  1. Place the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until the cream holds stiff peaks.
  2. Spread the whipped cream over the pie, using an offset spatula to create swirls in the whipped cream.
  3. Top with additional peanuts, if desired. Refrigerate for 3 hours, then serve and enjoy.