Banana Custard
This delicious Banana Custard recipe can be used to fill cupcakes, cakes, pies and tarts. You can use it to make banana pudding, or even just eat by the spoonful. It’s easy to make and delicious.
I am going to show you how to make this lovely banana custard, which is basically a banana pastry cream.
I use this recipe to make my Banana Creme Brûlée Cupcakes, and Banana Pudding Cups.
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You can use it to fill pies, cakes, cupcakes, macarons, choux puffs, or simply eat with a spoon.
This banana pastry cream is super thick and rich, and way better than instant pudding mix. The flavors don’t even compare. By infusing the milk with the banana, you obtain a very delicious banana taste without needing to add any of the fake banana flavoring or banana extract.
Banana Custard Ingredients
These are the ingredients you will need to make this lovely Banana Custard:
- Whole milk
- Bananas
- Vanilla bean (optional)
- Egg yolks
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
How to make banana custard
Making banana custard is super easy. Here’s how to do it.
- 1. Start by placing the bananas, milk, and vanilla bean seeds and pod in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and immediately when the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat off.
- 2. Cover the pan and let it sit for about 1 hour. The longer you let it sit, the more banana flavor the milk will be infused with. You can place the pan in the fridge for a few hours of overnight if desired.
- 3. Once the infusing time is done, place the pan back in the stove, and re-heat the milk over medium heat until the first bubbles appear.
- 4. Turn the heat off, and pour the mixture through a strainer. Push gently on the bananas to strain all the milk.
While the banana strains, it’s time to prepare the egg yolk/sugar mixture.
- 5. Whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl, until ribbon consistency. The mixture should be flowing off the whisk in a thin ribbon.
- 6. Pour the hot milk over the yolk/sugar mixture very slowly, while whisking non-stop. This is called tempering the eggs, and it needs to be done slowly so the eggs don’t scramble and cook.
- 7. Once all the milk has been added, pour the mixture back into the saucepan, and place it on the stove, over medium heat.
- 8. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring non-stop, until the custard starts to get very thick.
When the custard looks like the picture below, very thick and coating the back of the spatula in a thick layer, it’s done cooking.
Remove it to a bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface of the custard, so it doesn’t form a skin. Let it cool down gently and place it in the fridge.
Tips for making Banana Custard
- Make sure the bananas are super ripe.
- Infuse the banana with the milk for at least an hour. You can also leave it in the fridge overnight.
- If not using vanilla bean, increase the amount of extract you add at the end by 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Strain the milk/banana mixture, being careful not to let a lot of banana pieces pass through the strainer. It can make the custard chunky, and also with a green color.
- When tempering the yolk/sugar mixture, make sure to add the milk slowly, so the eggs don’t cook or scramble.
- Stir the custard the whole time while cooking it, and don’t let it come to a boil.
- The custard will seem curdled at first, but it will thicken and become smooth as you keep cooking it.
- Keep the heat low, or medium-low while cooking the custard.
- The pudding will thicken even more as it chills in the fridge.
What to use Banana Custard for
You can use Banana Pastry Cream for several desserts.
Use it to make banana pudding, or these Banana Pudding Cups.
In this recipe for Banana Creme Brûlée Cupcakes, I use this recipe to fill and top the cupcakes, before torching the top.
Also use this recipe to make this delicious Banana Raspberry Pie, you will need to make 1.5x to have enough for the whole pie.
For these delicious Banana Macarons, I use the banana custard as a filling, with a delicious whipped ganache. I love the combo of chocolate and banana.
You can use the banana pastry cream to fill choux puffs, cakes, or tarts.
Or simply, eat with a spoon, as you would eat a regular pudding.
This recipe makes a pudding thick enough that you can pipe. It holds it’s shape well, it’s thick and rich. The Banana Custard is super creamy, and smooth, and delicious!
Here are some more recipes you may like:
I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe. If you make this Banana Custard, let me know in the comments, or tag me on instagram, I love hearing from you!
Banana Custard
Ingredients
Banana Custard
- 2 cups milk 480 ml
- 2 cups very ripe chopped bananas 340 g, 3 to 4 medium bananas
- 1 vanilla bean split in half optional, see Note
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 3 tbsp cornstarch 24 grams
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter 14 grams at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions
Banana Custard
- To make the Banana Custard, place the milk, sliced bananas and seeds from the vanilla bean (if using, read notes) in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring it to almost a boil.
- When you see the first few bubbles, remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan and let the bananas and milk infuse for at least 1 hour, or place the pan in the fridge overnight. This will enhance the banana taste.
- When the milk is done infusing, place the pan back over medium heat and reheat until hot.
- While the milk reheats, in a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt. Set aside
- Strain the hot milk, being careful so you don’t let any banana pieces get through the strainer. Gently squeeze the bananas to release as much milk as possible from the solids without letting them through.
- You can use this banana pulp to make cupcakes or cakes, or any recipes that require mashed bananas. Or discard.
- Slowly pour 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the hot milk over the yolk mixture while whisking nonstop. Keep adding the remaining milk very slowly, whisking the custard continuously.
- Once all the milk has been added to the yolks, return the whole mixture to the saucepan that you used to heat the milk by pouring it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any bits of yolk that may have cooked or banana pieces that may have gone through.
- Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring nonstop with a wooden spoon or spatula, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom very well while you cook it.
- The custard will start to get thick and it will look lumpy for a while, but just keep stirring over medium heat. After a minute or so, the mixture should be thick and smooth.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter (and vanilla extract, if using), stirring to combine. Pour it into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap, placed right on the surface of the custard so it doesn’t form a skin as it cools. Place it in the fridge to chill completely.
- You can use this banana custard to fill cakes, even to top cupcakes like I do here on these Banana Creme Brûlée Cupcakes. You can also use it to fill pies, or to make Banana Pudding, or these Banana Pudding Cups.
Delicious! I made it with oat milk and margerine as I’m dairy-free and it turned out perfect. Now I need to figure own if I can can or freeze it for big batches and long-term storage.
Yes you can. I’ve frozen custard before. It wasn’t dairy-free, however, so that might be the only thing to experiment with. Place it in a ziplock or freezer bag, and freeze for up to 1 month. Let it thaw in the fridge for a few hours.
It’s cooling and the taste is interesting. I don’t think my bananas were ripe enough, they were not black I think that would make an ugly pudding anyway. I had trouble with the recipe because I saw sugar salt, and cornstarch in the list for the recipe but as I was baking there was no mention of them. I had to go back into the information prior to the recipe to see how and where it was added. I know this is an editing error but it did throw me off. I’m glad I’m not new to baking
Made this for my 2 year old grandson this weekend and he loved it as did my husband and I. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Can it be frozen successfully?
Yes you can freeze it. Just make sure to wrap it tightly. Up to 1 month.
I used this as a base recipe for a banana bourbon cream pie and I noticed there was a question about keeping the bananas in the recipe. I decided to keep the bananas in last minute and pureed them wanting a the extra punch of banana and a little more substance to balance out the bourbon. It worked out well, as did the color. To enhance the banana flavor even more I added a pinch of ground cloves at the start, (I don’t know why cloves do that, but it’s trick I use and it works without tasting the cloves – it also strains out with the egg bits after cooking). Anyhoo, thought I’d share even though it goes against the rules.
Flavor was wonderful! I made the double batch with 4 cups of milk and 8 egg yolks, adding the 6 Tbls. cornstarch the recipe called to use. WAY too starchy and thick. I’ll make again only using 3 – 4 Tbls of corn starch.
This recipe is seriously banging
Thank you so much!!
Can i blend the bananas with milk? or will it have problem setting
I wouldn’t do that. It will make the custard brown, and it might make it runny also.
Would I be able to add a second flavor, like peanut butter or chocolate?
For chocolate flavoring
Option 1: Melted Chocolate
After straining the infused milk and while reheating it, add 4 to 6 ounces (113 to 170 g) of chopped dark or milk chocolate. Stir until fully melted before tempering the egg mixture. This will create a rich and creamy chocolate banana custard.
Option 2: Cocoa Powder
Add 2 to 3 tablespoons (12 to 18 g) of unsweetened cocoa powder to the egg yolk mixture while whisking the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. This will evenly incorporate the cocoa for a deep chocolate flavor.
For peanut butter flavoring
After the custard thickens and is removed from the heat, whisk in ¼ to ⅓ cup (60 to 80 g) of smooth peanut butter while it’s still warm. Stir until fully incorporated for a creamy peanut butter banana custard.
So, I made this, and it didn’t quite set, its a bit like a sauce.
Is it possible to save it or get it to thicken by heating it again? Or should I start over completely?
You could heat it up again and try to thicken it.
Absolutely delicious! I got doubtful after about 15 minutes of stirring the mixture over medium heat because it hadn’t thickened but finally thickened and it’s amazing, 10/10 would recommend making it. The banana flavor is so strong, leaving it overnight was very worth it.
I am so glad to hear that!! Thank you!
Could you need this a few days ahead of time? Will it keep in the fridge?
Yes, you can definitely make the banana custard a few days ahead of time! It should keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just make sure to store it in an airtight container, and give it a good stir before using!
Absolutely delicious! Mixed with chantilly cream it makes a wonderful filling for profiteroles.
Thank you Camila!
That sounds wonderful!!!
Has anyone froze this custard? If so
does it keep it’s taste and texture? Thank you
Sandy
WOW this is delicious! I just made it & had to stop myself from eating the whole thing warm. The banana flavor is great but next time I’ll let it infused overnight to intensify the flavor. Great recipe, thank you for sharing.
Awesome! I am so glad to hear thank you!!!
was wondering if this recipe could be converted to other custards as in strawberry, orange, or any other type of fruit with the same ingredients
example
Strawberry Custard
2 cups milk 480 ml
2 cups sliced strawberries 340 g, 1 to 2 packs
1 vanilla bean split in half optional, see Note (idk if this would be good for strawberries)
4 large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
3 tbsp cornstarch 24 grams
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp unsalted butter 14 grams at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract optional (idk if this would be good for strawberries)
I’ve tried making this recipe with citrus juice, and it curdled the custard. So I don’t think it’s a good idea to try orange. The strawberry might do the same because its acidic, but you can always give it a go.
Use the zest instead