You can also make these in individual mason jars for a dinner party, or in one large casserole dish.
Either way, you’ll need:
1 recipe vanilla-almond custard
2 fresh bananas, sliced
1 recipe banana ice cream
1 recipe meringue
Vanilla-Almond Custard
6 tbsp sugar or mild honey (coconut sugar works too)
8 tsp flour
8 tsp cornstarch
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 cups milk (almond, soy, cow’s)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1. Combine the sugar, flour, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add all the eggs and yolks and beat them for 1-2 minutes. They should be thick and almost white.
2. Scald the milk in a medium saucepan (until the edges just start to bubble a little. It shouldn’t boil) and pour it slowly over the egg mixture in a thin stream like olive oil, whisking constantly until all the milk is added. I kept beating with the handheld mixer here because I didn’t have enough hands to whisk and pour at the same time. I foresaw the eggs tumbling to the floor that way (you can put a kitchen towel under the bowl to help keep it from moving around of its own accord). The liquid ended up a bit frothy, though, so you kind of need to beat the froth down into the liquid afterward, or you’ll have a hard time telling when the mixture has thickened in the next step.
3. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, reaching all over the bottom and sides of pan, until the mixture thickens a lot. Stop before it gets too thick. It’ll thicken a little more in the oven. Then scrape your custard into a clean bowl and whisk in the vanilla.
Banana Ice Cream
3 bananas, peeled and frozen overnight
1. Remove bananas from freezer and place in a blender. Blend until smooth. If they’re too frozen to blend, wait 10 minutes to allow them to soften. Transfer to a bowl and return to the freezer while you make the meringue.
Meringue
4 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch salt or cream of tartar (to stabilize the meringue)
1 cup sugar (fine granulated sugar is best for a smooth texture, unfortunately)
1. Place the egg whites and salt in a large, clean, dry mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer or electric hand beaters to whisk the egg whites to soft peaks.
2. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time. The sugar should be added gradually but don’t take your time about it. If the sugar is added too slowly, the results will be fluffy, not smooth, and that’s not a good thing in this case.
3. After adding all the sugar, whisk another 2 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and glossy and a long trailing peak forms when you lift the whisk from the bowl. You don’t want to over-beat.
To assemble the banana cream pie:
Preheat the oven to 350F (180°C). In an oven safe casserole dish line the bottom with a third of the custard. Then add a layer of half the banana ice cream. Then a layer of half the sliced bananas. Then another layer of custard, the rest of the ice cream, the rest of the bananas, and the last of the custard. Spoon the meringue over top gently. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Serve immediately, before the ice cream melts completely into the warm custard.
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