Friday Pie-Day: Banana-Berry Pie

When I saw this beautiful pie in my Taste of Home pies book, I knew we had to make it! We finally got around to it March 2012 (last year) for our pie of the month, and this double-layered pie was so fun to make and very tasty!

Think of this pie as a process that you can stretch out over several hours or a day. Sometimes you get more done when you work in short, small bursts. So take breaks from a big project and make this pie a little at a time.

Don’t be intimidated by the amount of ingredients or directions – it really wasn’t that difficult.

We used a pre-made graham cracker crust to save some time, but I did want to try the idea of brushing ginger on it.

The bottom layer of the pie would be made of strawberry jello, so I cut these strawberries super small to line the bottom of the crust first.

Then I mixed the jello ingredients on the stovetop and sat there stirring them for awhile before they thickened and boiled. That mixture has to “set” in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight) before moving on to the next step.

This banana mixture was the consistency of cheesecake.

It gets spooned onto the firm strawberry mixture, then back into the refrigerator it goes! Time for another few hours (or overnight) of hardening.

Decorate the top with strawberry slices. It looks so beautiful and tastes yummy too!

I’m not a huge cheesecake fan, but the strawberries gave it another dimension. I would like to try cutting the banana topping in half and increasing the strawberry layer instead – that might be even better!

Banana-Berry Pie (from Taste of Home)

CRUST:

1 graham cracker crust

5 tbsp. butter, melted

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. ground ginger

STRAWBERRY LAYER:

¾ cup sugar

2 tbsp. plus ¾ tsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. strawberry gelatin

¾ cup cold water

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries, divided

BANANA LAYER:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese

¼ cup cold 2% milk

1 pkg. (3.4 oz) instant banana cream pudding mix

1. Combine butter, sugar, and ginger, and brush over graham cracker crust.
2. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and gelatin. Stir in water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly.
3. Arrange 1 cup strawberries over crust. Pour gelatin mixture over strawberries. Refrigerate for 2 hour or until set.
4. In a large bowl, beat the sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, milk, and pudding mix for 1 minute. Spread over top of pie. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Garnish with remaining strawberries.