TWD: Banana Cream Pie

I love banana cream pie. Love. It. Here's what's funny, though. I've never made it. I don't tend to eat it very often, either. I don't know why. I think I may have to start, though.

This is a good pie. It's medium to high on the fussy scale. I did make a minor change to Dorie's recipe. I was really intrigued by a Nilla Wafer crust that I saw someone else talking about. I've made Dorie's pie crust before. It's good. But I really wanted to try this one. Easy enough. Crushed Nilla Wafers, confectioner's sugar, and butter. Baked. Done.

The custard was next. This seemed pretty standard. Boiled milk added to egg yolks and sugar. And cinnamon and nutmeg. I was curious to see how those flavors would blend with the banana. I discovered the same problem that some of the other bakers had. The custard got really thick really fast. Mine never had a chance to boil. I crossed my fingers that there wouldn't be a cornstarch taste. Into the fridge, and part two was done.

Assembly was next. The custard came out the fridge. It was pretty solid. Dorie recommends beating it vigorously to loosen it. I did that. And then I added about three tablespoons of milk. That's what finally did the trick. The custard is layered in with the bananas. Part three done.

The final step is to make the whipped/sour cream topping. It's pretty straightforward. The little secret is the sour cream. It adds a lovely little tang to the topping. This got spread on the top of the pie.

Tah dah! Pie!

Dorie recommends cutting it very soon after assembly. Problem is that right after assembly, it's still pretty fluid. And your slices end up looking like this:

And the pie left in the plate looks like this:

After a night in the fridge, however, it looks like this:

Much better.

This was a thumbs from all eaters. I enjoyed the Nilla Wafer crust, but it didn't hold together very well the first day. Next time around I think I will use a pastry crust. I discovered that I really enjoyed the cinnamon taste with the bananas. Though, I may drop down the amount a tiny bit next time. It was pretty pronounced. This was not a low-calorie diet dish. Two cups of whole milk, six egg yolks, one stick of butter, and one cup of heavy cream are just part of the recipe. That may be another reason why I don't eat this very often.... Lucky for me it's Passover this week and next so I'll have some good uses for the six egg whites left over.

Thank you Amy of Sing for Your Supper for picking such a yummy recipe. If you'd like to try it, go to her website for the recipe.