This recipe is inspired by a pie I enjoyed in a little dive of a diner in downtown Hattiesburg, Mississippi back in 1993. A tough, but kind woman named Olympia cooked up delicious Southern dishes infused with her Greek heritage. Miss Olympia wasn't about to give up any trade secrets to a young punk who came in every now and then to nurse a pot of coffee while reading a book. Even though she wouldn't share her recipes, she was free with her advice and opinions. Like "Boys don't like girls with 'the mow-ee-hawks.' You're a pretty girl; grow out your hair!" (Thank goodness she was wrong about Mr. One Fabulous Mama! ) In 2001, a friend's mother gave me a few tips for cooking custard and this recipe was created. It's still an ode to Miss Olympia and her faboo banana cream pie. This isn't as pretty as store bought pie, but the taste is amazing. Peace, B.
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together 1 cup sugar; 2/3 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 cups whole milk; and 1 and 1/ cups water. Heat until just warm to the touch and be sure there aren't any lumps. Add 6 egg yolks one at a time, whisking each into the liquid. (I always had trouble separating my egg yolks and white well. I purchased this faboo egg separator from the Pampered Chef. Worth every penny.) Bring the liquid to a boil and then, reduce heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. You'll want to watch the pot carefully, whicking to make sure this isn't sticking to the bottom or thickening too soon. You want to have a custard consistency. Pull off the burner and set aside while you prepare the crust.
I have used frozen pie crusts, but the one we like the best is the nilla wafer pie crust. Simple to make, friends. Just crush enough nilla wafers to make a little over 1 cup of very fine crumbs. This is always a job for the Littles, so we often have chunks of nilla wafer in our crust, but it's yummy good that way. Mix the crumbs with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter. Press into a 9 inch glass pie dish. I use the mini wafers and line the sides of the pie dish with them. it makes a cute presentation later.
Place banana slices over the pie crust and then, pour the custard over the banana slices. Refrigerate until the custard has set. A few hours at least. Top with whipped cream. Feel free to use cool whip if you don't want or care to make your own whipped cream. Making your own whipped cream is fairly simple though. Just whisk heavy whipping cream until you get soft peaks. Sprinkle with sifted confectioner's sugar and whisk again until you get those peaks. (FYI: If the cream, bowl, and beaters are very cold, you'll get more whipped cream faster.) I use around a cup of cream and 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar. Easy peasy.
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together 1 cup sugar; 2/3 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 cups whole milk; and 1 and 1/ cups water. Heat until just warm to the touch and be sure there aren't any lumps. Add 6 egg yolks one at a time, whisking each into the liquid. (I always had trouble separating my egg yolks and white well. I purchased this faboo egg separator from the Pampered Chef. Worth every penny.) Bring the liquid to a boil and then, reduce heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. You'll want to watch the pot carefully, whicking to make sure this isn't sticking to the bottom or thickening too soon. You want to have a custard consistency. Pull off the burner and set aside while you prepare the crust.
I have used frozen pie crusts, but the one we like the best is the nilla wafer pie crust. Simple to make, friends. Just crush enough nilla wafers to make a little over 1 cup of very fine crumbs. This is always a job for the Littles, so we often have chunks of nilla wafer in our crust, but it's yummy good that way. Mix the crumbs with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter. Press into a 9 inch glass pie dish. I use the mini wafers and line the sides of the pie dish with them. it makes a cute presentation later.
Place banana slices over the pie crust and then, pour the custard over the banana slices. Refrigerate until the custard has set. A few hours at least. Top with whipped cream. Feel free to use cool whip if you don't want or care to make your own whipped cream. Making your own whipped cream is fairly simple though. Just whisk heavy whipping cream until you get soft peaks. Sprinkle with sifted confectioner's sugar and whisk again until you get those peaks. (FYI: If the cream, bowl, and beaters are very cold, you'll get more whipped cream faster.) I use around a cup of cream and 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar. Easy peasy.
