Frozen Banana Cream Pie

Guys, I finally made banana cream pie! When I lived in LA, my friends and I would sometimes go to this whole in wall pie place called The Apple Pan. It’s a tiny old-fashioned burger joint with only one giant U-shaped bar for seating and they are known for their pie. Their apple pie is delicious (although I’m still partial to apple pie from Apple Hill but that could be for sentimental reasons) but it’s their banana cream pie that really stood out to me! I never even had banana cream pie until I tried The Apple Pan’s but I can’t imagine a better banana cream pie out there!

Since I’ve moved back home, I got random hankerings for a slice of banana cream pie but never got around to making it. I finally caved and made one. I love that traditional banana cream pies use vanilla wafers so I opted to make a vanilla wafer crust instead of a traditional pie crust. Not only was this less labor intensive than a traditional crust, but it added a great buttery flavor to the pie and matched perfectly with my banana cream pie secret ingredient… Nutella!

Yes, I added Nutella. Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds. Isn’t everything more amazing with Nutella?! If you aren’t a fan of Nutella, something I consider a crime, you could easily substitute with a chocolate layer or caramel or peanut butter or you could just omit the added layer altogether. This pie is so easy to make and such a crowd pleaser that it will quickly become the go to dessert in your house. Hope you enjoy it! And if you’re ever in LA, make sure to stop by The Apple Pan and get the best banana cream pie in this world!

-Kelly

Ingredients:

• 1 box vanilla wafers
• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 jar Nutella
• 1 box banana cream pudding
• 3 cups cold milk
• 3 bananas, thinly sliced
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Pre-heat to 325 degrees and spray the bottom of a spring form pan.
2. For the crust, combine 2 cups of crushed vanilla wafers and 1 stick melted butter. I prefer to melt the butter in a saucepan so that browns slightly and has that nice caramely smell!
3. Press mixture firmly onto bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.
4. While crust is cooling, slice bananas and make pudding mixture according to directions on box. The one I use just requires 3 cups milk.
5. For the whipped topping, beat heavy whipping cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.
6. To assemble the pie, spread a generous layer of Nutella over the cooled crust. Place the sliced bananas on top and then pour the pudding mixture over the bananas. Top with the whipped topping.
7. Place in freezer for 3-4 hours to make sure pie is set before releasing the sides of the pan. Serve and enjoy!