There is no better way to bring in the Spring season than fruity, no-bake pies! I enjoyed making this delicious Caramel Banana Cream Pie for Easter and it was the perfect blend of banana, whipped topping and homemade caramel sauce. No too much, not too little.
I created this little number by combining other recipes I reviewed and my own thoughts on how I wanted to make it. There was a popular recipe floating around social media for this pie but it didn’t live up to the expectations I wanted. I was looking for homemade but also easy. The one thing I might change is the pudding mix, I really didn’t want to use a pudding package however I didn’t have the banana flavoring to make a from-scratch batch so I settled for the next best thing: partially homemade. I still think you can call this “homemade,” ya know what I’m saying? Still requires the work and tastes like it’s straight from your momma’s kitchen!
Ingredients
Crust (makes a thick crust):
- 2 1/4 c. crushed graham crackers crumbs
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 14 Tbs. unsalted butter
Filling:
- 4 bananas, sliced
- 1/2 c. homemade caramel (see ingredients below)
- 1 (3.4 oz) banana cream instant pudding
- 1/2 c. milk (2% or whole)
- 4 ozs. cream cheese, softened
- 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups freshly whipped cream (you can make this with 1 cup of heavy cream with 1/4 cup powdered sugar - make extra if you would like for topping)
Homemade Caramel Sauce:
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2½ Tbs. water
- 3 Tbs. butter
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
Toppings:
- Caramel drizzle
- Freshly whipped topping
- Extra banana slices (sliced and added right before serving)
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Combine all ingredients and press in the bottom and sides of a 9" pie pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.
For the Caramel Sauce:
- While the crust is baking, make the caramel sauce in a pan on the stove top.
- Heat sugar and water over medium high heat, whisking constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture reaches a boil, stop whisking. Watch carefully as it thickens, this is an important step to ensure that it doesn't burn.
- Add butter and whisk until butter is melted. If you own a candy thermometer, it usually turns the perfect amber color at approximately 250 degrees.
- Once it's melted, immediately remove pan from heat. Wait 10 seconds and then add heavy cream. Whisk well to combine until glossy and smooth.
- Allow caramel to cool by placing in the refrigerator until ready for use.
For the Filling:
- In a large bowl, whisk the pudding and milk together for 2 minutes.
- With a mixer, beat together the cream cheese and pudding until smooth. Add the sweetened condensed milk; beat again. Add milk and beat until evenly combined.
- Fold in the 2 cups of the whipped cream.
Pie assembly:
- Place sliced bananas over the bottom of cool crust.
- Add 1/2 cup of caramel sauce.
- Pour the filling over the banana/caramel layer.
- Decorate with extra whipped topping as desired, drizzle caramel sauce.
- Refrigerate until chill or overnight.
- Add extra banana slices
