I made a banana cream pie Friday, which we shared with some neighbors and Queen B. Everyone wanted the recipe, which is fine (I don’t believe in “secret family recipes”) though it raised a question for me.
I have been using the same basic pastry crust recipe and iterating on it for so long that I not only don’t remember the original source, but the current recipe is probably unrecognizable from the original. I’m confident that I’m not offending anyone by offering it as my own.
For the egg custard, though, I looked up a recipe online and only slightly modified it.
ingredients
- baked pie crust
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup (30g) cornstarch
- 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 yellow bananas (not super ripe yet)
- optional: sprinkle of ground cinnamon
directions
- Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together with a fork. Set aside.
- Combine the milk, heavy cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Whisk until all the sugar has dissolved, then bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally.
- Once simmering, remove about 1/2 cup (120ml) of the milk mixture and, in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolk and cornstarch mixture.
- In a slow and steady stream, pour and whisk the egg yolk mixture into the pot. The custard will immediately begin to bubble and thicken. Cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly.
- Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the vanilla and butter. You will have about 3 cups of filling.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the warm custard to prevent a skin from forming on top. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. I do not recommend any longer than this, as it will be too thick to spread neatly into the crust.
- Slice 2–3 bananas and arrange slices into the cooled pie shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. Spread custard on top (it’s ok if it is still slightly warm). Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
- Top with whipped cream.
While I didn’t want to just put in a link instead of the recipe, I also want to acknowledge where I got it. So:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-banana-cream-pie/print/70269/
Everyone was so eager to eat the resulting pie that I failed to get a photo of the finished product.
—2p