This is the second week that I’ve started off with a dessert recipe, but during Winter, sometimes that’s all you need. And this being my birthday week, it’s even more justified.

Banana Cream Pie is something I’ve been dying to try. As I’ve mentioned before, I have quite a fascination with American food and I’ve ventured into it just slightly. We only recently got The Food Network in South Africa and I’ve been kind of hooked on some of those shows. Some, I don’t care for as much but The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten – I love you!) and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives have been two of my favourites. DDD is one of those shows that can both surprise me and shock me during the same episode. I am always surprised at the cooks/chefs who, in the back of a tiny little diner makes their own stock, pasta and breads. I am always shocked at the amount of butter and gravy used.

But it takes a lot to put me off and so far I haven’t been. I’d to visit the States and I’d love to explore all those diners and ESPECIALLY the BBQ joints. Just thinking of those ribs makes me salivate slightly.

That’s why I decided to try (what I believe to be) an All-American Favourite, Banana Cream Pie. It was on one of the DDD’s that I saw a lady making Banana Cream Pie and I fell inlove. I really like banana in desserts and Banoffee Pie is one of my all time favourites, so I just needed to try the American version.

An easier dessert you won’t easily find and it can be made easier by using cookie crumbs as the base instead of pastry (I used a shop-bought short-crust pastry). The filling is made on the stove and takes all of 10 minutes before it can be put in the fridge to cool down. I loved this recipe so much, I made it twice in the last week and both times my family just loved it.

Makes 1 pie (approximate 25cm (9.84 inches))

For the crust
1.5 packets of Tennis Biscuits
For the filling
2 cups milk
1 cup cream
1 tin condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp (just over 1/4 cup) cornflour/maizena
4 egg yolks
3 large bananas, roughly chopped
Topping
2 large bananas, thinly sliced
approximately 2 cups whipped cream

1. Place the biscuits in a food processor. Process until they are completely broken up and there are no big lumps visible.
2. Place in the bottom of a pie dish.
3. For the filling, bring the milk, cream, condensed milk and vanilla to a boil.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the cornflour and egg yolks.
5. When the milk mixture is hot, spoon some of it onto the egg yolk mixture and whisk well. Pour the egg yolks back in the pot and allow to heat slowly while stirring constantly.
6. The mixture will become very thick. Stir continuously to prevent the filling from burning.
7. When the mixture is cooked through (no floury taste), pass it through a sieve to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.
8. Mix in the chopped bananas and pour onto the biscuits. Place a piece of cling wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
9. Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours until set.
10. To serve, remove the cling wrap and arrange the sliced bananas on the pie. Pipe the whipped cream on top, grate some chocolate over (if desired) and serve.

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Tags: banana, banana cream pie, banana cream tart, banana pie, banana tart, Cream, Dessert, Pie, Pudding, Tart