When you can’t decide between chocolate or banana cream pie, why not make both? With a flaky chocolate pastry crust filled with sliced bananas, distinct layers of smooth vanilla and dark chocolate pastry cream, and topped with a fluffy cloud of whipped cream for a multi-layered delight that’s sure to please.
In terms of preparation, this pie is easier than it looks! The chocolate and vanilla cream layers are both made on the stovetop at the same time, with a bit of dark chocolate stirred into half the custard to give you that second layer without any extra work.
We’re not very good at making decisions. It took us 3 months to pick out a sofa for our living room. Nearly a week to settle on a name for our kitten. I ordered and returned 8 different pairs of winter shoes before I finally liked one enough to keep.
Needless to say, decisions are not our strong suit.
That includes pie-related decisions.
I mean, who in their right mind can choose between chocolate or banana cream pie? Chocolate, is, well, chocolate. You can’t go wrong with chocolate. But banana… something about it just makes me happy inside. I can’t remember the last time I actually ate a banana cream pie, yet the memories of the flavor are fresh in my mind. Hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the thought of its creamy goodness out of my head. I knew I definitely wanted to make a cream pie, that was easy. But deciding between chocolate cream pie or banana cream pie? Impossible.
So, I did what any obsessive, indecisive, sweet-toothed baker would do when faced with such a dilemma: I made both.
The results speak for themselves I think. It’s so good, in fact, that I’m planning to make a second pie this weekend. And maybe another pie every weekend after that. This pie is so good that I cannot picture my life without it.
Regular banana cream pie which features layers of fresh banana with a rich vanilla custard (it’s always baffled me that there’s no banana in the actual cream part, but the sliced bananas add more than enough banana flavor on their own).
In contrast, this pie splits the custard, melting bittersweet chocolate to half of it so you get two layers without having to do twice the work. Nestled in a flaky chocolate pastry crust and topped with a mountain of freshly whipped cream (and don’t forget the chocolate curls!) it’s the perfect amount of chocolate to satisfy even the most devout chocoholic.
Crust issues.
The chocolate pastry crust is basically a regular butter-based pie crust with added cocoa powder. There are a few other differences (a bit of sugar to sweeten the cocoa, a little shortening to improve the tenderness and workability) but the general idea is the same, despite the final result being so visually different.
For more detailed instructions and step by step photos of the crust, please check out the Flaky Chocolate Pie Crust recipe. The ingredients and abbreviated instructions are included here, but since pie crust can be finicky (crust me, I KNOW), I opted to create a separate post just for the crust to help ensure your baking success.
Whether you use the chocolate pastry crust as written, or opt for a different crust entirely (use your favorite pie crust recipe or even a cookie crust if you prefer!) you’ll want to be sure the crust is fully baked and cooled before you start making the custard.
This pie begins with a fully baked chocolate pastry crust, with sliced bananas in the bottom, topped with distinct layers of rich vanilla pastry cream and dark chocolate custard. Finally, the icing on the cake (er, the whipped cream on the pie?) is a swoop of fluffy whipped cream and a scattering of dark chocolate curls.
It’s a perfect recipe to make ahead of time, as the custard needs to set anyway (a few hours ideally, but you can certainly let it sit overnight). You can also make the pie crust even farther ahead of time and freeze it before or after baking.
I don’t recommend freezing the filled pie, however, as pastry cream fillings such as these can often get a little weird (weepy or slightly curdled) after freezing and thawing.
Here’s how to make it:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Pie crust: While I used a chocolate pastry crust here (basically a classic pie crust but with some cocoa added), you could use a regular pie crust, or even a chocolate cookie crust. Since the filling is unbaked, you will just need to fully bake the pie crust first.
Banana: If you wanted to leave out the layer of banana, you could just have a black and white pie with layers of vanilla pastry cream and chocolate cream. There’s no actual banana flavor in the vanilla cream, all the banana flavor comes from the layer of banana slices in the bottom!
Chocolate: I used a 56% semi sweet chocolate, but you can use any good quality chocolate from 50-70%. I do recommend using a good quality chocolate as opposed to chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers that make them harder to melt smoothly.
If you wanted a classic banana cream pie, you can also skip the chocolate and keep the custard entirely vanilla (guessing you’ll probably want to use a non-chocolate pie crust too).
Milk: Whole milk please. I also don’t recommend using non-dairy milks for this recipe as they don’t set as well as real milk.
Flour/cornstarch: I used a mix of thickeners to give the pie its thick, sliceable texture. While my original recipe just used flour, I found the mix of flour and cornstarch to be a better balance of flavor and texture. if you wanted to use just flour, use about 1/3 cup. For all cornstarch, use 1/4 cup. I have not tested this recipe with alternate thickeners.
Guar gum: one of my favorite tricks to stabilize whipped cream is to add a tiny bit of guar gum (whisk it in with the sugar before you add it to the cream). It’s amazing how well the whipped cream holds up with this tiny addition! That said, feel free to leave it out, I just recommend waiting to add the cream layer until the day you plan to serve it.
Chocolate curls: You can buy these, or make your own by running a vegetable peeler on the edge of a warm room temperature chocolate bar (I find this method easiest) or spreading tempered chocolate onto a cool surface like marble, and then scraping curls off with a bench scraper (this is tricky as the chocolate needs to be exactly the right temperature, but with a little practice it works beautifully!)
Note: This recipe was originally published in 2011 and has been updated and rephotographed. The recipe is mostly the same, with flour and cornstarch in the filling (instead of just flour), and a slightly different order on the layers.
Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
A flaky chocolate pastry crust filled with a layer of sliced bananas, smooth vanilla pastry cream topped with a layer of rich chocolate cream, and finally, a fluffy cloud of freshly whipped cream and chocolate curls.
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For crust, sift together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle butter cubes and shortening over flour, then use a pastry blender to cut in the fat until it forms pea-sized pieces. You can also use a food processor or blender for this step if you like!
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Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and sprinkle over 3 tablespoons of the ice water. Mix with a fork until the dough starts to clump. Sprinkle over more water, a teaspoon at a time, until no more dry bits remain. Give the dough a good knead or two until it comes together in a rough, shaggy ball.
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Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, flattening slightly into a disk. Refrigerate for at least 30-60 minutes or overnight.
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out pie crust on a lightly floured surface and gently drape into a 9″ pie pan, crimping edges as desired. Freeze for at least 10 minutes prior to baking (or while your oven is preheating).
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Line crust with crinkled parchment paper and fill full with weights (I like using granulated sugar, but dried rice or beans works well too!) Bake for 15 minutes or until sides and edges appear dry (bottom may still be a bit wet looking).
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Carefully remove weights and lining, then poke surface and sides with a fork or toothpick to prevent puffing. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until entire crust has a matte finish and is no longer shiny. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
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For filling, in a medium saucepan, mix sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in 1 cup of milk until smooth, then heat over medium heat until mixture starts to steam and bubble around the edges.
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In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining cup of milk. Temper the egg mixture by slowly drizzing in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture while you whisk. Pour the now-warm egg yolk mixture into the larger saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture.
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Return saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble and thickens to the consistency of pudding, about 3 to 5 minutes.
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Remove from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla until fully melted and smooth. Separate out half of the filling, and add chopped chocolate to the other half, stirring until chocolate is melted and fully incorporated (the residual heat should be more than enough to fully melt it).
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Arrange a single layer of banana slices in the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Pour plain filling on top, smoothing into an even layer over the bananas. Pour chocolate filling on top of that, again smoothing into an even layer all the way to the edges. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until fully cooled.
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Whip cream until frothy. Whisk sugar with guar gum (if using). With the mixer running, slowly pour in sugar, then increase speed and beat until cream holds medium peaks. Stir in vanilla. Gently spread whipped cream on top of chilled pie. If desired, transfer a portion of the whipped cream to a piping bag if you want to pipe rosettes for decoration. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.
- *You can use all butter in your crust if you like, but I find a little shortening helps ensure a more tender crust that’s easier to work with.
- *A tiny bit of guar gum in the whipped cream helps stabilize it. If you want to make your pie ahead of time I highly recommend this addition!
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