Martha Stewart's Genius Tip For Assembling Perfect Banana Cream Pie

The banana cream pie has been around since 1901, and its calling card has always been its simplicity. Flour, eggs, bananas, milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, heavy cream, and buttery, flaky pie dough — what could be so hard?

Well, actually one thing makes this pie frustratingly challenging to make — namely that the sliced bananas always slip and slide into piles on the custard, rather than sitting in a neat layer. Luckily, Martha Stewart, famed domestic goddess with 100 cookbooks on the horizon, has found a solution (as she always does). Her tip: shingle the bananas.

Shingling, typically known as a term for arranging tiles on the roof of a house, is where a material is layered side-by-side, almost overlapping one another. So when assembling the pie, cut the bananas into thinly sliced discs and wrap them in concentric circles on top of the first tier of custard. Then just repeat! Custard, bananas, custard, bananas, custard, and then pipe your whipped cream on top. The shingling will ensure that the bananas do not slide around, and it creates an aesthetically appealing presentation.

Now that you have mastered the shingling technique, maybe you want to try a more advanced version of banana cream pie. Common additions consist of chocolate shavings (follow Ina Garten's pro tip for effortless chocolate curls by using a vegetable peeler), drizzled caramel, or a coconut crust, but you can go a step further.

Instead of a traditional pie, think outside the box and whip up a banana cream pie dip, with Nilla wafers or banana slices taking the placeholder of chips. And if you are tired of circular-shaped pies, how about slicing the treat into individually sized bars in a banana cream pie traybake? This technique will immediately showcase all the beautiful layers you put into making this pie and is perfect for a party (since you will not need to hover around the pie constantly cutting pieces for all your guests).

To make life even easier, there are no-bake options — where just a store-bought crust, bananas, vanilla wafers, and banana pudding allow for something just as delicious, without the fuss of using your oven. Make the pudding, plop it into your crust, layer with bananas, and then top with whipped cream for an easy finish.