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Blake for something sweet for the weekend that didn't involve pumpkin. I guess I wore him out already this pumpkin season. He's a banana lover so I tried out a classic banana cream pie recipe tweaked to cut out the sugar and grains. The recipe is gluten-free, sugar-free, grain-free, but does contain dairy and eggs. I used a walnut meal crust. I think walnuts are the closest substitute I've found for the classic graham cracker.
It came out pretty tasty but was a little more complicated then I thought it would be. If you try this recipe read the notes at the bottom of the recipe so you're prepared. This could have gone terribly wrong, but it came out alright. Blake enjoyed it, so no ingredients wasted, I'll call that a success.
If you're experienced with xanthan gum, I'm sure you'll be alarmed by the amount called for in this recipe. That's the amount I had to add to get the desired thickness I was after with the pudding. Just add it slowly and keep stirring until you get what you want. It's likely that you won't actually need the full amount listed here.
If you're not down with banana (I'm not the biggest fan myself), I've got several other pie recipes for you:
If you decide to take the plunge, let me know what you think!
Ingredients
Walnut Pie Crust
- 1 ½ Cups Walnuts
- 3 Tablespoons Melted Butter
- 3 Tablespoons Erythritol
Banana Cream Pudding:
- ¼ Cup Erythritol
- ½ Cup Coconut Flour or ¼ Cup Xanthan Gum see notes
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Cup Heavy Cream
- 4 Egg Yolks save the whites
- 3 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 ½ Teaspoon vanilla
- 3-4 Ripe Bananas
Meringue:
- 4 Egg whites
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ½ Cup Erythritol
Instructions
Walnut Pie Crust:
- Add all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until walnuts are finely ground.
- Press into the pie plate and bake-off at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Banana Cream Pudding:
- Combine the sweetener, coconut flour/xanthan gum, and salt in a large saucepan. Slowly add in the cream.
- Meanwhile, separate the 4 egg yolks and 4 egg whites. Set the whites aside for use later. Beat the yolks slightly.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Reduce heat and cook 2 more minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat. Spoon some of the hot pudding mixture into the egg yolks and mix in order to temper them. Pour the egg yolks into the saucepan and mix it in well.
- Place pan back on the heat and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
- Stir in butter and vanilla until the butter is completely melted.
- Set aside. If you need to, place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the hot pudding to prevent a skin forming (for instance, if you make the pudding ahead of time).
- Peel the bananas and slice them into the bottom of the pie crust. You can put in as many as you want, but you should have a good thick layer.
- Pour the pudding on top of the bananas until it almost fills up the pie crust.
Meringue:
- Combine the egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar in a large bowl (or a stand mixer bowl).
- Beat the egg whites on medium until soft peaks form.
- Turn the mixer on high and slowly add in the sweetener
- Beat on high for about 4 minutes or until you get stiff peaks. Makes sure all the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a bit of meringue in-between your fingers.
- Spread the meringue on top of the pudding, sealing the edge to the pie crust.
- Bake at 350° F. for 12-15 minutes--just long enough to toast the meringue. Let cool and eat chilled
Wonderful looking pie!!