For the Pie Crust:

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a food processor.

Pulse the dry ingredients 4 times to fully mix the ingredients.

Add pieces of butter to the dry ingredients and pulse at one-second intervals until mixed in, forming pebble size pieces.

Add the egg to the mixture and pulse until the dough forms a ball.

Turn the dough out of the food processor onto a floured surface.

Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap it with plastic wrap, then refrigerate it for 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough and put it into your pie pan. 

Put the pie pan in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.

Preheat your oven to 375.

Place the pie pan on a baking sheet to make it easier to move in and out of the oven.

Place a piece of parchment over the pie dough and add the pie weights to cover the bottom and sides of the dough.

Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake until the sides of the pie crust are just set and light brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes with the pie weights in place.

After 5 minutes, carefully lift the parchment paper with the pie weights out of the pan.

Using a fork, dock the bottom and sides of the crust to help keep the crust from puffing up.

Place the pie pan back in the oven and continue to bake for 15 minutes.

Check the pie crust to see if has puffed up. If it has, use a spoon to press the bottom and sides, but be gentle.

Then continue baking the pie crust until golden brown and dry, about 10 minutes.

If the edges get too dark, cover them with foil or a pie shield to keep them from browning too quickly.

*Transfer the pie crust to a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before adding the pastry cream.

For the Banana Filling:

Add three egg yolks and 3 eggs to a medium mixing bowl.

Whisk together the eggs and three yolks and set aside until needed.

Add the sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a medium saucepan. Whisk the ingredients to combine well.

Pour the whole milk into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined and there aren’t any clumps.

Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes until thickened.

*When the mixture has thickened reduce the heat to medium and continue whisking for 5  to 6 minutes, then remove from heat.

Slowly add a cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, whisking continuously through the addition. 

*This tempers the eggs so they don’t turn into scrambled eggs when you add them to the saucepan of hot milk.

Add the egg and milk mixture to the remaining hot milk in the saucepan, and whisk continuously.

Put the saucepan back on the stove over medium-high heat and continue whisking for 2 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, then add the vanilla and butter to the mixture.

Using a rubber spatula stir the mixture until the butter is melted and incorporated into the custard.

Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and chill until it's cooler than room temperature. 

For the Whipped Cream Top:

Add heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla to a stand mixer, then whip the ingredients to stiff peaks.

This process should be slow, starting, on low, and increasing the speed over about ten minutes.

**This method is how you keep the whipped cream from breaking.

The cream should be ice-cold and as fresh as possible. (Check for heavy cream with the longest expiration date).

To Assemble the Pie:

Use a spatula to smooth a layer of the pastry cream filling (homemade vanilla pudding) onto the bottom of your cooled pie shell.

Add enough sliced bananas to cover the layer of pastry cream.

This could be anywhere from 2 to 4 bananas depending on their size.

Add the remainder of the filling over the sliced bananas in the pie shell.

The consistency of the filling will depend on how long you let it chill.

Smooth the top of the filling and cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the banana cream pie for at least 4 hours.

Add the whipped cream to the top of the pie, smoothing with a spatula.

Decorate the top of the pie with more banana slices. Enjoy!