Move over Easter pie recipes — banana coconut cream pie is here to change the game!
Most people don’t think tropical for Easter dessert recipes, but one bite of this pie and you’ll be making room in your Easter recipes list! Delicious coconut custard layered with fresh bananas and homemade whipped cream is all cradled in a coconut macaroon crust. Yum, yum, and yuuuu-uuuuum!
This cream pie will fit in alongside your strawberry pie and salty-sweet Atlantic beach pie. It can even hold its own against the much-beloved million dollar pie!
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What I Love About This Recipe
As soon as you bring out a pie as show-stopping as this banana coconut cream pie, all jaws drop and all tummies start to rumble! It’s creamy, it’s light, and it’s just downright good eatin’.
- A guaranteed crowd pleaser!
- Macaroon cookie crust
- Banana and coconut for a tropical explosion!
Banana Coconut Cream Pie Video Tutorial
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How To Make Banana Coconut Cream Pie Recipe
Like many homemade pies, this banana coconut cream pie recipe follows pretty standard steps: crust, filling, EAT!
Start by prepping your pie plate. Brown coconut in butter on a skillet, then press into the pie plate. Let cool.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and flour. Slowly add your half n half.
On the stovetop, mix the remaining half n half with the sugar. Add the egg mixture slowly and stir until thick. Remove from heat and add your food coloring (if you want – not necessary!) before mixing in your vanilla and coconut. Pour into a bowl and let chill in the fridge.
Meanwhile, make your whipped cream by beating heavy cream in a stand mixer. Add your powdered sugar and vanilla.
Assemble your pie! Layer bananas, filling, and whipped cream into your crust. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and dive in!
Coconut Cream Pie Recipe Notes
Want to make sure you get the best coconut cream pie you can? Of course, you do! Here are some tips and tricks.
Crust: This can make or break your pie! Done right, and you’ll end up with a macaroon-like crust that is just divine. Here are some of the best things to do!
- Pressing: When pressing the coconut crust into the baking pan, don’t press too firmly. A crust that’s too dense will be hard to cut through and make serving the pie a hassle.
- Baking: Don’t overcook the coconut crust. I cannot stress this enough. Do not overcook the coconut crust. Light golden brown is really the perfect color for the crust. A light brown crust will have some give to it, that’s what you want.
Filling: Bringing the filling to a boil is absolutely essential. The filling will not set unless it’s first brought to a boil. You need the chemical reactions that happen with the high boiling temp! If you’re nervous to cook with boiling sugar, follow these helpful steps.
Coconut Banana Cream Pie Ingredient Notes
There are a few specifics to keep in mind when you’re baking with these pie ingredients!
Coconut: If you live far away from a tropical region, finding fresh, sweet coconut will be difficult. But do your best. The freshest bag of sweet coconut possible is the ideal choice — which means don’t go for that bag of coconut you’ve had sitting in your pantry for years!
If you want to get adventurous, you can even shred your own coconut for a nice homey touch!
Butter: Make sure to butter your pie plate generously! You want the pie crust to have some give rather than being a dense block of coconut, and any sticking to the pan might tear your crust and ruin it. (Plus, the generous helping of butter on the pie plate soaks into that crust and gives it a wonderful buttery taste.)
Gluten: The coconut crust on this pie tastes so incredible with the coconut and banana cream filling! Plus, the simplicity of toasted coconut as a crust makes this pie easy to convert for our gluten-intolerant guests — just use any all-purpose gluten-free flour, or whatever your favorite flour substitute is in baking.
Storing Tips
There’s really only one way to store this banana coconut cream pie: the fridge!
Can You Freeze This?
Nope! There’s way too much cream in this pie for it to do well in the freezer. It’d separate and get all funky. No one wants that! Just stick to the fridge.
Banana Cream Pie Recipe Make Ahead Tips
The bulk of the prep time needed in this banana cream pie recipe comes from chilling. Chilling is key for the pie to set right!
One way to save time is to use a box vanilla pudding mix instead of making the homemade vanilla pudding the recipe calls for. But! Replacing the homemade pudding with box mix will not taste as good. Period. Warning!
If you’re not going to serve the pie the same day you make it, save the whipped cream and the full pie assembly for the serving day. Make the homemade pudding and store it in the refrigerator with plastic wrap right on top to avoid it developing a skin.
Then, on serving day, make up the fresh whipped cream and assemble the rest of the pie. The best option is to make it as close to serving time as possible. Fresh whipped cream is a thousand times better than day-old whipped cream!
How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?
Once fully assembled, you can store your pie in the fridge for up to four days. Not that you can make it fully assembled four days before your party — each day that it sits fully assembled, it’ll start to settle more and lose its structure, and it might even start to weep sugary syrup.
But you can let your leftovers sit in the fridge, and they’ll still be edible — they just won’t be as pretty!
Banana Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 3 cups sweetened flake coconut
Pie Filling:
- 4 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar divided
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups half and half divided
- yellow food coloring optional
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups sweetened flake coconut
- 2 bananas firm but ripe, peeled and cut into 1/2 thick slices
Topping:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut toasted and cooled
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt butter. Add coconut and continue to cook over medium heat until coconut just turns golden brown. Press the coconut into the prepared pie plate. Chill the crust 30 minutes before filling.
Make the Filling:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt and flour. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of half and half
- In a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining 2 cups half and half and 1/2 cup sugar and bring just to a boil. Slowly stir in the egg mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens.
- Remove from heat and add food coloring (if using), 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 1 1/2 cups of coconut, stirring until evenly combined. Pour into a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap (Plastic should be directly on the surface of the warm custard). Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
Make the Topping:
- Whip the heavy cream in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until peaks are just stiff.
Assemble Pie:
- Layer sliced bananas in cooled crust. Pour chilled filling over bananas. Spread whipped cream over the top and shape into a decorative mound. Sprinkle The top evenly with 1/2 cup toasted coconut and serve immediately.
Fans Also Made:
Nutrition
More Easter Dessert Recipes
How many Easter dessert recipes do you make? Here are some more!
- Blackberry Pie – is the perfect way to showcase this stellar summer fruit.
Conclusion
After this banana coconut cream pie recipe, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to bring tropical flavors to spring! Creamy custard and decadent crust have you celebrating the best Easter yet.
What’s your favorite type of cream pie? Let me know in the comments!
Originally Published on Spend With Pennies
Source: Adapted From Lawry’s The Prime Rib Restaurant
If this pie is made on a Wednesday how will it be for serving on Thursday It says serve immediately but does it have a refrigerator life
Hi Ann! You can store it in the fridge for four days. Suggest that you save the whipped cream and the assembly for Thursday. Hope this helps! 😀
my neighbors love this
what does it mean? 3 Cups Half and Half~Divided is a ingredient?
Hi Tatiana. Divided is added to the recipe card to alert you that the amount of a given ingredient, in this case Half-and-Half, is used in different steps in the instructions. If you read the instructions for this particular recipe, you will note that in step 1 of “making the filling” you whisk in 1 cup of Half-and-Half. Then in step 2, you use the remaining 2 cups. I hope this helps. <3
THIS PIE IS ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTOUS!!!!! IT IS JUST AWESOME AND PERFECT.
Hey, Sharon! Thank you so much! I’m with you on that! I just made this for Sunday Super because the men in my family pout if it’s not served at the end of most big family dinners! LOL <3
Looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try this!!!!
I am having a hard time reading your recipe (and others too) because of the pop up ads that cover about half of the recipe. The ads cover the right half of your recipe. Very annoying.
Hey Jean. If you are seeing ads that block any content, they aren’t ads from my site. Those ads are appearing on mobile devices, including Ipads, that haven’t updated their operating system. They are ads generating from a site previously visited. I can only imagine how frustrating they are! I think I may hate them even more than you do!
Lovely cake.The photos are elegant and beautiful.
Thank you so much 🙂