Banana Coconut Cream Pie

Bananas are often overlooked here in Costa Rica as a fantastic basis for many desserts. Sure, we have our share of banana breads, but that’s it. This pie takes two very prolific tropical fruits and melds them into a sensational specimen of a pie. Most people have had banana cream pies or coconut cream pies, but the marriage of the two, officiated by a sleek brown bottle of rum, comes together and forms the perfect union.

This pie comes together as quickly as it disappears, which is @ lightning speed! The beauty of the filling is that it can be made even more coconutty by substituting coconut milk for some of the water, or more banana-y by simply layering in more bananas. You could add peanut butter to the cream filling, brown sugar, dulce de leche, cinnamon, chocolate, rum…the possibilities are endlessly delicious. A graham crust will also be great, and save you the time of blind baking the basic pie shell. Enjoy!

Banana Coconut Cream Pie
Yields 1-9″ pie
courtesy of Eagle Brand Simple 1-2-3 cookbook
1 pie shell, blind-baked or graham
3 yolks, beaten
3 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. water
1-14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 t. butter
1 t. vanilla extract
2 T. rum, divided
1/2 c.flaked coconut, toasted
2 medium bananas  I used 3
juice of 1 large lemon
whipped topping, optional
additional toasted coconut for garnish

1. In medium dry skillet, toast coconut over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve cornstarch in water; stir in sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Cook and stir until thickened and coats the back of a spoon to the point when a line drawn down the center of the coated spoon doesn’t meld back together but remains a line.
3. Remove from heat and add butter, rum, and vanilla. Cool slightly. Fold in coconut and set aside.
4. Peel and slice bananas into 1/4″-thick rounds. Toss gently with lemon juice; drain. Arrange bananas on bottom of crust. (Or layer between layers of pudding). Pour filling over bananas. 
5. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or until set. (Tastes much better when time is allotted for flavors to meld.) Top with whipped cream blended with 1 T. rum and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Store leftovers covered in the fridge.

*Note: I used a scaled-down version of Pioneer Woman’s pie crust recipe. The texture was spot-on flaky and tender, but I felt that the flavor was very dull. If you opt for this recipe, I recommend adding a pinch of sugar and/or using butter-flavored Crisco or half butter in place of shortening.