Banana Cream Pie

BANANA CREAM PIE

This dessert has been requested time and again in my cooking courses over the years.  One kid’s comment, “For anyone with a sweet tooth this pie is heaven.  But be warned when you start, you won’t be able to stop”.  

You will need two fairly firm bananas but all the other ingredients are normally on hand in one’s kitchen.  Following the recipe below, you and your children/ will easily master pastry making.  Steps to follow for separating eggs are given.  The custard can be made while the pastry dough chills.  

Preheat oven:  220C/450F       Makes one 9-inch/22 1/2 cm pie

Ingredients:

125g/5 oz./1 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

50g/2 oz./1/3 cup baking margarine

Cold water

Baking paper

Baking marbles or dried beans

1. Sift/sieve together flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add margarine and mix into flour with pastry blender, fork or fingers until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
2. Add 2 tablespoons cold water and mix with fork until dough follows fork around in the bowl.  Another tablespoon of water may be needed to achieve this.
3. Shape into a ball then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Lightly flour surface to be used to roll out pastry dough. Place ball of dough in centre of surface. Pat down with fingers. From center out, roll dough with a floured rolling pin. Roll the circle to the size of the pie plate plus 2 1/2 cm./1 inch.
5. Fold the rolled out dough into quarters and place it in the pie plate. Unfold.  Turn under edge of dough all the way around to fit the pie plate. Using the forefinger and thumb of one hand and the forefinger knuckle of the other  flute edge or simple press the edge down with a fork.
6. Prick bottom of pastry shell several times with a fork. Place a sheet of baking paper over pie shell and fill with baking marbles or dried beans. Bake 12 minutes; remove filled parchment paper and bake pie shell another 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

CUSTARD FILLING FOR BANANA CREAM PIE

Custard seems to be an old favorite in the U.K. although this pie is an American dessert.  Any extra custard is great with some homemade granola sprinkled on top.  See previous post.

Custard is cooked over, not in, boiling water.  Use of a double boiler makes it much easier and safer to prepare.  More supervision by an adult will be required if a metal bowl is placed over a pan of boiling water.  

 Ingredients:

125g/5 oz./2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons corn flour, rounded

1 pint whole milk

4 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In the top pan of a double boiler, or in a large metal mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, salt, and corn flour.  While stirring, gradually add the milk.  Leave for 10 minutes over boiling water, for mixture to thicken.  Stir occasionally.  Remove top pan or bowl from heat.
2. Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl.  Pour hot milk mixture into eggs while stirring.  Return mixture to top pan or bowl over boiling water and cook and stir until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.  Cool.
3. Slice 2 bananas and evenly distribute over baked, cooled, pie shell.  Pour  custard filling over being careful not to overflow the baked pastry.
4. Prepare meringue, from recipe below.  Spread on top of hot custard filling right up to the edge of the baked pastry.  Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown in a 180C/350F preheated oven.  Remove from oven and cool on wire rack before serving.

SOFT MERINGUE TOPPING

To make this meringue, you will first need to separate eggs.  To do this, follow the instructions below.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

100g/4 oz./1/2 up caster sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

1. In a clean,  glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form.
2. Add, sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition.
3. Add vanilla and beat on high speed until peaks are stiff but not dry.
4. Spread the meringue over pie filling or Baked Alaska, securing it to the edge of the crust or aluminum covered board.  Bake in a hot 220C/450F oven for 5-7minutes or until golden brown.

TO SEPARATE AN EGG:

1. Have two small bowls ready.
2. Crack the egg on the side of one bowl.
3. Holding the cracked egg upright with one hand, use the other hand to lift 

off the top half shell.

1. Let the white overflow into one bowl.

1.   Tip the yolk into the other half of the shell, letting the rest of the white   fall  into the same bowl.
2. Drop the yolk into the second bowl.

To separate an additional egg, use a third bowl and follow steps 1 to 4 above, and then slip the white from the third bowl into the first, and the yolk into the yolk bowl.  Carry on using the third bowl in this manner for any additional separated eggs needed.  

© Judy Labi 2013