Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Cook the Book: Susan's Banana Cream Pie

Posted by Caroline Russock, July 17, 2009 at 1:30 PM

For those of you who have spent all week wondering what beautiful pie graces the cover of Mollie Cox Bryan's Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies, this is the moment that you've been waiting for. That dreamy pie with perfectly browned wisps of meringue is Susan's Banana Cream Pie. I can't remember the last time that I had a slice of banana cream pie but looking at the cover of Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies all week has left me with quite a craving for it.

The recipe comes from Susan Simmons, who has been baking at Mrs. Rowe's for a long time; she knows a thing or two about pies. Pouring the straight-off-the-stove hot custard over the banana slices infuses it with an extra banana-y flavor. And remember when making the meringue to save your egg yolks for making the custard.

Win 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of The Barcelona Cookbook to give away this week. Enter to win here »

Susan's Banana Cream Pie

- makes one 9-inch pie -

Adapted from Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies by Mollie Cox Bryan.

Ingredients

1/2 recipe Vinegar Pie Crust or Plain Pie Pastry (recipes follow)
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 medium banana, sliced
1 recipe Mrs. Rowe's Meringue (recipe follows)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together. Using a double boiler, heat the milk until it boils. Whisk in the egg mixture and cook, stirring occasionally with the whisk, for about 4 minutes, until very thick. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

3. Slice the banana and arrange the slices in the crust. Pour the filling over the bananas and top with meringue, sealing the edges well.

4. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. The filling should wobble very slightly in the center when the pan is jiggled. Custards continue to cook when taken out of the oven, so don't overdo it. Cool at room temperature on a wire rack, then chill in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Vinegar Pie Crust

- makes two 9-inch crusts -

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Procedure

1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until it is the size of small peas. Add the vinegar, egg, and just enough ice water to moisten the dry ingredients.

2. Form the dough into 2 equal balls, then flatten into disks. Roll out the crusts right right away, or wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball to a thickness of 1/8 inch.

3. To prebake an empty crust, preheat the oven to 400°F. Press one rolled-out crust into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Line with parchment paper and weight the crust down with dry beans or weights to keep the crust from bubbling or shrinking. Bake for 10 minutes, until firm and lightly browned. To parbake the crust, remove it from the oven after 10 to 20 minutes, when you first see a golden hue to the crust.

Plain Pie Pastry

- makes two 9-inch crusts -

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
5 to 7 tablespoons cold milk

Procedure

1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut the shortening with a pastry blender until it is the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the milk over part of the flour mixture. Gently toss with a fork and push to one side of the bowl. Sprinkle another tablespoon over another dry part, toss with a fork and push to another side of the bowl. Repeat with the remaining milk until all of the flour is moistened.

2. Press the dough together to form 2 equal balls, then flatten into disks. Roll out the crusts right away. or wrap the dough tightly, smoothing out any little wrinkles or air pockets, and refrigerate for up to two weeks. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Use a light touch and handle the dough as little as possible.

3. To prebake an empty crust, preheat the oven to 400° F. Press 1 rolled-out crust into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Line with parchment paper and weigh the crust down with dry beans or pie weights to keep the crust from bubbling or shrinking. Bake for 10 minutes, until firm and lightly browned. To parbake the crust, remove it from the oven after about 10 to 20 minutes, when you first see a golden hue to the crust.

Mrs. Rowe's Meringue

- makes enough to cover one 9-inch pie -

Ingredients

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons sugar

Procedure

Combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a chilled bowl and beat with an electric mixer on slow to medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time and continue beating on slow to medium speed until the whites form stiff peaks but aren't dry. The meringue is now ready to pile lightly over a pie.

7 Comments Favorite this!  (0)