Boston Banana Cream Pie

November 15, 2022

Boston Banana Cream Pie is a pie that’s really should be called Boston cream cake! It’s plump full of pastry cream filling and banana slices, and it’s all topped with a chocolate ganache.

This cake was probably called a pie because in the mid-nineteenth century, pie tins were more common than cake pans. It’s believed that the first versions might have been baked in pie tins. Boston Cream Pie is a remake of the early American Pudding-cake pie.

This delicious dessert is one that you might find at your favorite bakery, but it’s easy enough to make at home. The original Boston cream pie recipe does not call for using any bananas, but this recipe turns it into banana cream pie. I love the added banana flavor!

Ingredients needed:

all purpose flour
white sugar
baking powder and salt
milk
shortening
vanilla extract
large egg, at room temperature
butter
bananas
unsweetened chocolate
powdered sugar

How to make Boston Banana Cream Pie:

The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

MAKE THE CAKE:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 9 inch round pan, and then line with round piece of parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, blend all cake ingredients until moist; using an electric mixer to beat for 2 minutes on medium speed (you can also use a stand mixer). Pour the cake batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. The finished cake springs back when touched.

Cool 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. Remove the parchment carefully and cool completely. When the cake is completely cooled, remove the cake from the wire rack and split it carefully into two layers (horizontally) with a long, thin knife.

MAKE THE FILLING:

Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Slowly stir in the milk. Cook on medium heat; stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Bring to a boil for 1 minute.

Temper the egg by adding about ¼ cup of the hot filling into the egg. Add another ¼ cup of the hot filling, mixing well. If the egg mixture has warmed up, go ahead and add the egg mixture back into the hot pan; cook until bubbly, stirring constantly. (Be careful- if you add the egg without warming it up first, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs in your cream filling!) Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Cool, stirring occasionally.

Use a rubber spatula to spread half of the filling onto the bottom cake layer. Arrange slice bananas on the filling, taking care to put some near the edges so that they will be seen in a decorative way from the outside.

Then cover the bananas with the remaining filling. Carefully top the filling with the second layer, cut side down.

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

In a small saucepan, cook the chopped chocolate and butter on medium-low heat until melted. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, salt and milk with a wooden spoon until you reach a good spreading consistency. Be sure not to leave it too thick or the chocolate layer will be thick and harden, making it difficult to slice the cake neatly. It should have the consistency of ganache.

Spread the chocolate glaze on top of the cake, letting some drizzle down the sides. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The result is two layers of delicious vanilla cake sandwiched around delicious creamy vanilla custard that has a pudding-like consistency with freshly sliced banana. Some recipes use instant pudding and Cool Whip, but this recipe makes everything homemade. The whole thing is covered in a wonderful chocolate icing.

Slice carefully to keep all of the filling intact. This Boston banana cream pie might become your new favorite recipe! Enjoy!

What is the difference between Boston cream pie and Boston cream cake?

A Boston cream pie is a cake with a cream filling. The dessert acquired its name when cakes and pies were cooked in the same pans, and the words were used interchangeably.

Banana Dessert Recipes: