Somebody I know really likes banana cream pie. I really like Bobby Flay. So I decided to make Bobby Flay’s banana cream pie.
It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Mainly because Bobby’s recipe calls for powdered vanilla pudding mix. Usually his recipes are a bit more complicated than mixes; not that there’s anything wrong with that. At least I made my own graham cracker crust…
Crust:
- 6 graham crackers, crumbed
- 3 tablespoons of sugar
- 1/3 cup of melted butter
- Mix all of the ingredients together. I used a food processor both to turn the graham crackers into crumbs and then to mix the rest of the crust.
- Press into a pie plate and chill for 1 hour.
Filling:
- 2 (4 serving size) packages of vanilla pudding mix – I used My-T-Fine
- 3 bananas, sliced
- Whipped cream
- Make the pudding according to the package directions.
- Line the crust with banana slices
- Pour 1/2 the pudding over the bananas
- Add a layer of bananas on top of the pudding
- Pour the remaining pudding on top
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours
- When ready to serve, decorate with bananas and top with whipped cream
P.S. Ever try to find graham crackers without high fructose corn syrup in them? I have – and I failed. Does anyone know where I can find some?
The Kosher Foodies 
Sure on the graham crackers: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/graham-crackers-recipe/index.html
The Joy of Cooking, which is my bible, has a great recipe for vanilla pudding which works nicely. I actually made it recently with some modifications and will be posting it later this week on my blog.
Also, I have a pretty good recipe for Chocolate banana cream pie (no pudding mix required):
Pie crust
1 ¼ cups sugar
⅓ cup cocoa powder
⅓ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 bananas, sliced
Whipped cream
Bake pastry shell and set aside. Combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Gradually add milk, and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil and stir for 3 minutes (or until the consistency is fairly thick). Remove from heat and blend in the butter and vanilla. Pour into bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Cool to room temperature.
Cover bottom of cooled pie crust with a small amount of filling. Arrange banana slices over filling; cover with remaining filling. Chill 3-4 hours or until firm. Garnish with whipped cream and banana slices.
I’ll add that to my list of banana cream pie recipes to try. Thanks!
And maybe I will start making my own HFCS-free graham crackers, too.