Best Fudge Bottom Banana Cream Pie

Layers of fudge, fresh bananas, and banana pudding make this Fudge Bottom Banana Cream Pie the best dessert to end any meal with.

The past few weeks we have been adjusting to a new area, schools, and house.  Going from a small private school to a much larger public school was hard at first for our kids, but they have been troopers and learned the building, schedules, and school id's in no time at all.

Kids really are resilient and can adjust to new things so much quicker than adults.

So far in the house we have painted kitchen cabinets and the ceiling and walls in the living, kitchen, and dining area.  And by we painted, I really mean my hubby painted  while I drank my Dark Chocolate Latte and pointed out spots that he missed.  That's the part of painting that I'm good at.

Just for the record, I did use the small roller and paint the wall color in the small spots.   I was a little nervous about the yellow color we picked out, but now that it is all done with white trim and a few other places white, I really like it.  

Another new thing in this house that everyone is adjusting to is the ceramic tile floor.  The last few houses we have lived in have had laminate flooring or carpet.

Let's just say the glassware in our home needs to beware!

So far a plate has been dropped and shattered in the kitchen, and yesterday a picture wasn't sitting on a table very well and knocked off a few glass vases onto the entryway tile.

Then last night our son had the bright idea to kick a soccer ball around in the living room.  It got away from him and went sailing over the half wall into the kitchen, knocking off a glass cookie jar right onto the floor.

I'm pretty proud of us for not reacting to that.  It would have been easy to get mad because I have told him before about the ball in the house.  But it is just a cookie jar.  Keeping cool and calm is a better example to him as he is getting older.

Things happen. I'm just glad it wasn't something more expensive.

Another thing I'm adjusting to is a new oven and new lighting.  It always amazes me that each oven may say 375 degrees, but they all have slight quirks in baking.

I bought a big bunch of bananas for more Raspberry Mint Smoothies and for testing out this "new to me" oven.

A few months ago I had a Facebook reader ask for a banana cream pie recipe.  It made my list of things to make, but then life happened and I didn't get it done until now.

And in true BruCrew fashion, it has dessert layers.  I tend to do that to just about everything I make.  Layers are my friend.

The only thing you have to bake in this pie is the crust.  If you want to keep it all no bake, you could also use a cookie crust like in this White Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie.

Tips for making the Best Fudge Bottom Banana Cream Pie:

Crust: Make or bake a pie crust. I like the flakey texture of a pastry crust, so that is what I used in this recipe.  If you want to make this a completely no bake pie, make a graham cracker crust or Oreo cookie crust instead.

Fudge: Heat the heavy whipping cream for 45 seconds in the microwave.  Pour it over the chocolate chips and let it sit for 1 minute before stirring.  Stir until completely melted and creamy. Pour the chocolate into the bottom of the cooled pie crust and chill in the fridge.

Pudding: Whisk the pudding mix and milk together. I prefer using 2% milk in a pudding mix, so that it thickens better. Refrigerate while you beat the cream cheese and smashed banana.  Add the pudding and Cool Whip and mix everything together.

Bananas: Slice fresh bananas and place in a single row on the chilled fudge layer.  Top with the banana pudding.

Cool Whip: Pipe swirls of Cool Whip around the edge of the pie using a decorating bag and icing tip 1M.  Refrigerate for a few hours.

Topping: Add a fresh banana slice and chocolate curls to the top of the pie right before serving this easy black bottom banana cream pie for dessert.

Other easy pie recipes:

• Lemon Cream Strawberry Pie
• No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
• Cookie Dough Cheesecake Brownie Pie
• Apple Crisp Pie
• Nutella Cookies and Cream Pie
• Dirt Pie