Old-Fashioned Banana Cream Pie

The rich, old-fashioned flavor of this cheerful pie will remind you of summers at Grandma's.

Old-Fashioned Banana Cream Pie  Print Recipe

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked and cooled
3 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch (or 1/3 cup flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks in a small bowl, slightly beaten (save the egg whites if you want to make meringue)
2 tablespoons butter
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 to 4 ripe bananas

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, scald the milk. In another large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch (or flour) and salt. Gradually stir in the scalded milk.

2. Over medium heat, stirring constantly, cook until thickened. Lower heat slightly, then cover and cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

3. Slowly pour a small amount (about 1/2 cup) of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly. When egg yolk mixture is thoroughly combined, pour it slowly back into the pan of hot milk, again stirring constantly. (This keeps the eggs from scrambling and getting lumpy).

4. Cook one minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Stir gently until butter is melted into the pudding. Let pudding cool in pan until lukewarm.

5. When custard is cool and ready to pour, slice bananas and layer evenly across bottom of pie crust. Pour the lukewarm custard over banana slices.

6. Top pie as desired with meringue or fresh whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers.

Luscious vanilla cream pudding poured over sweet, ripe bananas

Cook's notes: The directions in Step 1 say to scald the milk. Scalded milk is an important flavor and aroma element in old fashioned recipes. Scalding milk is bringing it just to the edge of a boil. The edges will bubble, and the milk will have steam rising off the top of it. 

In "How to Scald Milk", Holly Quinn notes, "Scalding milk is not necessary for health reasons as it was in the olden days, when it was done primarily to destroy bacteria. Today's modern pasteurization takes care of that. But scalded milk can make a slight difference in the taste and texture of baked items and custards--if you haven't quite been able to copy one of grandma's recipes exactly, scalded milk could be what's missing."

You may also enjoy Homemade Pie Crust:

Coconut Oil Pie Crust:

Pie filling recipe from Dallas Morning News archives.

Old Fashioned Banana Cream Pie may have been taken to some of these fun parties! 

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