Banana Cream Pie

palatablepastime

10 years ago

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Classic banana pie with creamy custard filling and whipped cream.

Banana Cream Pie

By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime

This is probably my daughter’s favorite pie. Almost invariably, I make it around Thanksgiving or Christmas, plus other times during the year, usually when bananas are on sale. And I thought of it recently when I did a pie blogging event with Sunday Supper. And then on the calendar, it pops up that today is National Banana Cream Pie Day.

Well.

How can I not make one now?

This version is pretty easy to make although I admit Bill made it one time and didn’t cook it long enough so it was runny. I don’t really time the cooking time- you just have to make sure the filling is thick, like pudding, and when you lift you whisk and shake, it comes off in globs, not a stream. Like pudding, right? We all know what pudding looks like.

Another thing is that this is cooked on the top of a double boiler (so it doesn’t scorch). You don’t want scorched custard. It tastes horrible. And you don’t have to go out and buy a double boiler (although I do have a nice one by all-clad that I picked up at an estate sale, otherwise I would not have bought it). You can use any regular saucepan, and put a stainless steel bowl on top. What’s that? No stainless bowl? Hey, those are cheap enough at Wal-Mart. And they last forever. Almost. I have a set still, given to me at a bridal shower. One small one got bent during a move (these are sturdy, but the movers managed to bend a graniteware roasting pan at the same time so just imagine the incredible hulk crushing these on the truck). And another one I just lost after over thirty years due to wear and a mysterious scratch on it. But you will need something for things like hollandaise sauce as well (I have a post coming up that includes that, so you might as well be prepared). And who doesn’t need a good stainless bowl?

~Sue

Banana Cream Pie

Servings: 6-7
Time: 3 hr 25 min
Difficulty: moderate
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Prep & Cook: 25 min

Chill 3 hours

Ingredients:

1 pre-baked pie shell (you’ll be baking that)
plastic wrap
chopped nuts (garnish)
whipped cream (about 2-3 cups)

Pie:

1 2/3 cups milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
2 cups freshly sliced bananas

Method:

Pre-bake pie shell and allow to cool.
In a large stainless mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, cornstarch, condensed milk and egg yolks.
Place mixing bowl on top of a double boiler (simmering water in the pan below, not so high as to touch the bowl) and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is like thick pudding.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Slice bananas (I do this at the last minute).
Place enough of the custard in the bottom of the pie shell to coat the bottom and sides.
Fill with one cup (half) of the banana slices, then top with half of the remaining custard.
Add the rest of the bananas and pat down, the top with the rest of the custard, using a spatula to even it out all the way to the edges of the crust to keep as much air out as possible.
Cover pie with a piece of plastic wrap to keep a skin from forming on top, and refrigerate several hours or overnight until cold and set.
Top with whipped cream and a sprinkling of chopped nuts before serving.

From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com