Bavarian Cream Pie
This Bavarian cream pie starts with a buttery, salted graham cracker crust, filled with homemade vanilla bean pastry cream that's lightened with fluffy whipped cream, all topped off with toasted coconut.
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Ingredients
Custard
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
Crust
- 1 ¾ cups finely crushed cinnamon graham crackers or chocolate graham crackers
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes, lightly toasted
Instructions
Custard
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch and salt.
- Slowly whisk in about a cup of the milk, whisking smooth any lumps of corn starch, then whisk in the rest of the milk, egg yolks and vanilla bean paste.
- Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until the custard starts to bubble and thicken; this should take about 8-10 minutes. Once it begins to thicken, continue to cook and whisk for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the custard through a mesh strainer to strain out any bits of cooked egg, into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap resting right against the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers and salt. Add the melted butter, and stir until moistened and crumbly.
- Press the crumbs evenly against the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.
- Bake the crust for about 8-10 minutes, until toasted.
- Cool the crust completely before filling with the cream.
Whipped Cream
- Use an electric mixer to whip the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla on medium speed for several minutes, until thick fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the chilled custard, folding it in with a spatula to loosen up the custard until smooth. Add the rest of the whipped cream, folding it in until you have a fluffy, creamy filling.
- Spread the cream into the cooled crust, and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until ready to serve. Remove the sides of the tart pan before serving.
Video
Notes
Cover the pie loosely, and refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.
You can also layer the cream with sliced bananas, fold some finely chopped chocolate into the cream, or sprinkle the top with toffee bits instead of coconut.
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