Banana Cream Pie
Dear Family,
This pie was part of our 2020 Covid Thanksgiving, hosted by Claire and Brayden in their first home (in Aurora, Colorado). It was their first time hosting Thanksgiving and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Claire’s mother-in-law, Stacy Schoonmaker made this pie and I have to say, it’s the best made from scratch banana cream I’ve tasted. What put it over the top for me was a drizzle of caramel sauce just before serving. So good.
I modified the recipe a bit. One thing I don’t like about banana cream pie is that the bananas get mushy after a day. So instead of slicing banana in the pie, I soaked the milk for the custard with overripe bananas over night. It gives the custard an amazing banana flavor.
The night before you make the pie:
Combine 2 3/4 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup cream and 3 large overripe banana (smashed with a fork) in an airtight container. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to make the pie, strain the banana, milk mixture through a fine mesh sieve and discard the bananas. Remeasure the banana milk so that you end up with 3 cups.
For Custard:
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup corn starch
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Whipped cream
Prepared Caramel sauce (Trader Joe’s if you have one nearby)
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt. Whisk until the egg/sugar mixture is pale in color. Add the cornstarch and whisk just to combine. In a 2 quart saucepan, add the banana milk, and the egg/sugar mixture and place over medium low heat Stir constantly until thickened. Boil one minute. Remove the custard from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap Let cool.
When ready to assemble, pour the custard into the prebaked pie shell. Spread whipped cream over the top.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, top individual servings with a few sliced bananas and drizzle caramel sauce over the top.
