If you're a dessert person from Texas, chances are the end of the Luby's line is imprinted in your brain -- glistening strawberry shortcake, super creamy chocolate pie and of course their famous gelatin. It may have even been your first dessert. And then there was Luby's banana cream pie. Officially, it wasn't part of a LuAnn platter, but a slice or two somehow always made its way to our table. My grandfather liked it, and now I know why.
Luby's Banana Cream Pie is adapted from the Luby's Good Food Good People cookbook, a collection of recipes from the Texas cafeteria chain that so many people grew up with. While I can't promise it's exactly the same pie that appeared in every Luby's location, it reminds me of the old pie, which I remember as having loads of fresh bananas and none of the instant-pudding flavor that turns up in so many banana cream pies.
Banana Cream Pie Without Pudding Mix
While I can't say I don't like banana pies made with pudding mix, this version uses a straightforward homemade milk custard that comes together with pantry ingredients. In fact, there's one interesting ingredient that helps the pie hold together -- mini marshmallows! With so many fresh bananas, the cornstarch and egg yolks need a little assistance, and the small bit of gelatin in the marshmallows plays an important role. You'd never know they were there.
This pie is not overly sweet. The bananas provide plenty of natural sweetness, while the custard stays balanced and creamy. After chilling for 4 hours, the flavors meld together beautifully and the slices hold their shape. Barely, but they do.
If you're looking for a nostalgic dessert for a weeknight or baking for someone who loves banana cream pie, this one's worth a try. It's not the fanciest pie, but it captures the flavors of banana pudding in pie form. No Nilla Wafers required, though I did garnish mine with some animal crackers.
Tips for Success
- Use bananas that are ripe but still firm. Overripe bananas will become watery. Luby's douses theirs in pineapple juice to keep them from turning brown. Any residual pineapple flavor goes well with the banana flavor.
- The Luby's cookbook version calls for half-and-half, less cornstarch, and fewer egg yolks. In my tests, the filling was too soft. Since the Luby's version didn't work exactly right, I turned to The Joy of Cooking and found a very similar pie, but made with milk instead of half & half. So I switched to whole milk, increased the cornstarch and egg yolks for a pie that slices neatly. I think the Luby's marshmallow trick also helped.
- Chill the custard completely before serving for the cleanest slices. And again -- by clean I mean you can scoop it from the pan and plate it. This is not an overly stiff pie, and it's not supposed to be.
- Cover the surface of the custard while it cools to prevent a skin from forming.
Add the whipped cream shortly before serving for the freshest appearance. If you like Cool Whip, save some time and use that. - I've not tested this pie after an overnight chill. Because it contains so many fresh bananas, I think it's at its best the day it's made.
Recipe
Luby's Inspired Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch deep dish pastry crust, baked**
- 2 ½ cups whole milk (600 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cornstarch (32 grams)
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup miniature marshmallows, slightly rounded (28 grams)
- 2 tablespoons butter, sliced (28 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 ½ cups sliced bananas
- 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
Whipped Cream Topping (or use Cool Whip)
- 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Bake your pie shell according to package directions and set aside to cool.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, cornstarch, and ½ cup of the cold milk until smooth. Add the egg yolks and whisk until mixed.
- In a large (3 quart) saucepan, heat remaining 2 cups of the milk until hot and bubbly.
- Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture, then pour it all back into the saucepan and whisk over medium heat until it thickens (big bubbles will start to break the surface and it will be thick like pudding). Add the marshmallows and whisk just until they melt.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.
- Pour the saucepan mixture into a bowl, press a piece of greased wax or parchment paper over to keep skin from forming and let cool to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, toss the bananas with the pineapple juice until evenly coated. Drain and discard any juice. Stir the bananas into the almost-cool pie filling, and pour into the baked crust. Press plastic wrap directly onto the filling and chill for at least 4 hours or until ready to serve.
- Before serving, whip the cream until soft peaks form, then add powdered sugar. Start with ¼ cup and add more to taste (up to ⅓ cup) and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Pipe or spread over the pie.
Darlene says
Great idea to add mini marshmallows to the custard! Sounds delicious!