I’ve said this before but for those who don’t know it yet, I have to confess to something: I’m not great at making desert. I’m not that bad, but I miss my deserts one time out of two. That’s a fifty percent success ratio. Not impressive for someone who says she can kick butt in the kitchen!
Anyways. I like a good challenge so the other day I suggested to a friend of mine that I bring desert to her diner party. Of course, she accepted. I scratched my head, not knowing what to do. That’s when I realised I had a few dying bananas on my kitchen counter (my toddler loooooves bananas so I always have a bunch around, which explains my inclination at making banana deserts!). I also had a graham pie crust in the cupboard, something I had bought a few months back thinking one day I’d make a pie. One and the other put together equalled a banana pie. So I searched a few recipes and decided I’d be making banana cream pie.
The one thing you usually have to follow when you make a desert, are the ingredients. Desert making is a science, not an art, so there’s no space for creativity. Which is where I mostly fail. I always try to put my own twist to recipes, which is what makes them go wrong! For this one, instead of making ONLY banana slices at the bottom of the pie, I pureed half of them and added them to the pudding mixture… The pudding ended up being a bit more muddy then I expected… and the results when not very chic!! But don’t get fooled by its looks; it tasted amazing and between the four of us, we almost finished the entire pie! I’m sure that if you follow the recipe properly and you don’t go wild like me, your pie will be pretty and a great success!!
BANANA CREAM PIE
Makes 8 servings (or 4 big ones!)1 Graham pie crust (9-inch)
¾ cup white sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tbsp butter
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
4 bananas, sliced
PREPARATION
Preheat the oven at 350˚F.
In a skillet, combine sugar, flour and salt. Add the milk gradually, stirring gently. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from burner.
Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add the egg yolks mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes until the pudding becomes a rich, creamy texture. Remember to always keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add the butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.
Slice the bananas onto the pie shell. Top with the pudding mixture.
Bake in the oven for 13 to 15 minutes. Chill for an hour. Decorate if you think it needs better presentation.
