Banana Cream Pie (Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free)

I make an awesome pie, especially a two crust pie.  In fact, I once won 2nd place in a pie baking contest!  Then wheat allergies struck at our house.

Making a two crust pie with gluten free flour is – disheartening.  I tried making pies with gluten-free flour, gluten-free pie crust mixes, and pre-made gluten-free dough for more years than I care to count.  I’d get a wild hair every once in a while, and try baking a pie…again.  (I think I sometimes had amnesia regarding my limitations baking gluten-free.)  Most of the time, I ended up throwing the pie out.  Sometimes my family, desperate for the freshly baked pie which smelled wonderful, would suggest we at least scrape the pie filling out of the horrible crust and eat it.  Now that’s a “glass half full” kind of attitude, isn’t it?  Anyway, I quit making pies.

Then I found the  ”So Delicious CoCo Whip”   http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/ and got the itch to try making a pie again; a single crust pie that I could top with my CoCo Whip.  Banana Cream is Kevin’s favorite.  I read the ingredient list on a box of “Jello” brand Banana Cream Pudding.  It looks like I can safely eat it; but I wonder if it’s worth taking a chance when I can, actually, make it from scratch.

It was time to get my trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook out.  I also got my tub of CoCo Whip and Pillsbury Gluten Free Dough out of the freezer. (I had enough of the dough for one crust from a previous time and it freezes well.)  Below is a picture of the cookbook and the recipe. You will notice it’s actually a Coconut Cream Pie recipe, but at the bottom of the picture you will see how you can make it Banana Cream.  With every new allergy, I make changes in my cookbooks, so you will see them also.  Below the picture is the recipe, with my substitutions, which I used for making my pie. (I think on a laptop screen the recipe may be hard to read because you cannot zoom in on it. Viewing this on a phone should allow you to zoom in.

Cookbook my mom gave me in 1995. I use it all of the time. Yes it’s in 2 pieces and some of it is held together with a chip clip.
It’s a bit chopped up because I made a copy of it and taped it together because it was on 2 pages.

Brenda’s version of Banana Cream Pie (Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free)

9-inch baked pie shell:

Pillsbury Gluten Free Dough can be found in the refrigerator section in a 15.8 oz. container. (Similar to a container sour cream may come in.){See my message – in all caps – at end of this post.}  I let my frozen dough set out overnight to thaw.  It was room temperature when I went to roll it out (between 2 pieces of wax paper).  It rolled out like a dream – which hasn’t always been the case when using this product.  I think when I’ve used it before it was still quite cool after being refrigerated.  I’m thinking room temperature may be the key.  Follow the baking instructions on the container. (Don’t forget to poke holes in the crust before baking.)

Banana Cream Filling:

  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup potato starch
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups almond milk (or your favorite milk/milk alternative)
  • Egg Replacer prepared equivalent to 2 eggs *(see note below)
  • 2 tablespoons butter alternative
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Couple drops yellow food color (I do this to brighten it up a bit, because I don’t have the egg yolks to give it a little color.)
  • 2 bananas
  • “So Delicious CoCo Whip”
  • *(I only mix up enough for 2 eggs, because the original recipe calls for 4 egg yolks – not 4 eggs, so you don’t want to put in the equivalent of 4 eggs.)

Mix sugar, potato starch and salt in saucepan.  Gradually stir in milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thicken and boils.  Boil and stir 1 minute.  Stir prepared egg replacer into mixture.  Boil and stir 1 minute, remove from heat.  Stir in butter alternative, vanilla and couple drops of yellow food color.  Let it cool a bit, then press plastic wrap onto filling in saucepan; refrigerate until room temperature.  Slice 2 bananas into pie shell, pour cooled filling over bananas.  Top the pie with “CoCo Whip”.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.  Refrigerate any remaining pie.

Yay, pie!!

My pie turned out great, hope yours does too.

Enjoy!

– WELL, THIS IS A BUMMER.  AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, WHEN I MENTION NAME  BRAND PRODUCTS I USE, I LIKE TO ADD A LINK TO THEIR WEBSITE.  TRY AS I MIGHT, I COULDN’T FIND ONE FOR PILLSBURY’S GLUTEN FREE DOUGH.  WHILE SEARCHING, I SAW A COUPLE GLUTEN FREE SITES DISCUSSING PILLSBURY GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS (SOME NOT IN A POSITIVE MANNER) AND WHEN I WENT TO BOTH THE KROGER AND WALMART SITES, THEY NO LONGER CARRY IT.  SO, WE MAY HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.  I’M SO DISAPPOINTED.  I’LL LET YOU KNOW IF I FIND ANY MORE INFORMATION ON THIS. I’M AFRAID I MAY HAVE TO SEE IF I CAN PERFECT A NEW PIE CRUST MIX.

Thanks for stopping.

Brenda

Disclaimer:                                 

These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know? Just read your labels! Do your research!)