For The Smoothest Banana Cream Pie, You Need To Strain Your Pastry Cream
When it comes to pie rankings, banana cream is at the top of a lot of lists. It's got a thick, velvety texture that's packed with tropical fruit flavor, and it rests on a toasty, graham cracker crust. Just those two components alone would be delicious as-is, but then the whole thing is topped off with a mountain of fresh whipped cream, which makes it extra irresistible. The recipe for banana cream pie is not all that complicated, but it's a little deceiving because it's really two recipes in one. In order to make the pie itself, you have to also make pastry cream, which can be notoriously lumpy. You don't have to settle for bumpy banana cream pie, however. Professional pastry chefs always strain the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer to make sure it's smooth and silky, and you should too.
Straining pastry cream is an extra step that only takes a minute, and if you want to elevate your pie skills from so-so to state-fair winning, that little bit of time pays off in spades. The key is to set up your straining area while your pastry cream is cooking on the stove.
Set up your straining station
Pastry cream is a custard, which means that it's a liquid that's thickened by cooking eggs or egg yolks in the mixture. However, pastry cream also has a flour or cornstarch base, which also thickens the sauce, just like a bechamel or gumbo. The combination of thickeners gives pastry cream its signature texture, however, these two thickeners also create ample opportunity for lumps to form in the pot. It's important to always use a whisk when you're stirring the ingredients on the stove, and never walk away while the heat is on because it will cook unevenly.
Even the best whisking can still come up short, however, and that's why it's important to strain pastry cream. The best and only time to strain it is when it's hot off the stove, because once you turn off the heat the sauce will start to thicken and you'll never get it through a strainer. To make sure you're not searching around the kitchen for a strainer when the sauce is hot, set up a straining station before you even turn the heat on the stove. This setup only needs to be a fine mesh strainer or a colander that has lots of small holes, and a large heat-safe bowl. It's a bonus if the strainer fits on top of the bowl so that you don't have to hold it in place when you pour the pastry cream into it.
Store your pastry cream with plastic on top
When your pastry cream is properly cooked and coats the back of a wooden spoon, all you have to do is slowly pour the hot sauce through the strainer. The bowl will collect the strained pastry cream and the strainer will catch any lumps of egg bits or thickened clots of flour or cornstarch. Even if you've made pastry cream many times you might be surprised at what the strainer catches.
Now that you have perfectly smooth pastry cream, you can spread it into the pie shell for your banana cream pie. It will need to chill before you top it with whipped cream, so be sure to lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream before it goes into the fridge. This will prevent the cream from forming a thick layer of skin, which defeats the purpose of straining the pastry cream because you want a very smooth, silky texture inside the pie. Not only that, if you have to remove the skin you'll be wasting pastry cream that should rightfully stay inside your pie. When the pastry cream is cooled down, all that's left is topping the pie with whipped cream and garnishes and it's ready to serve.