Maya Angelou's Man-Winning Banana Pudding/Banana Pie W. Meringue

carrie sheridan's Note:

I found this recipe in the October 2004 issue of O magazine. I love to cook the recipes of people I greatly admire--in a small way, to share something simple with them! I'm looking forward to trying Abraham Lincoln's favorite cake. This would be good as a banana pie in a zwieback [crushed zwiebacks and melted butter] crust, too, I suspect...

• Total Time: 5 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 cups milk
• 8 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups vanilla wafers
• 4 ripe bananas, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a large saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt; stir until blended.
3. Mix in milk.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and boiling; boil 1 minute and remove from heat.
5. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Then whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot custard until blended. Pour yolk mixture back into the saucepan of custard; cook over medium heat, stirring, for 2 minutes.
6. Stir in butter and vanilla until blended.
7. Place vanilla wafers [these could be crushed in a large bag with a rolling pin] on the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish.
8. Top with layers of banana slices and custard.
9. Repeat layering, ending with custard.
10. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites that are at room temperature with 1/4 cup sugar at low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar; increase speed to medium and gradually beat in remaining sugar. Beat until egg whites hold stiff peaks.
11. Spoon meringue over hot custard immediately, making sure the meringue touches the baking dish on all sides (this prevents shrinking).
12. Transfer to oven and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
13. Remove pudding from oven and cool 1 hour.
14. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

Reviews

[Buster's friend]

so easy - even DH did do it! That's not really fair to DH who actually purused Zaar for Mooshy foods to aid my recovery from painful periodontal work. This is a delicious recipe that was eye-poppingly lovely when he showed it off in the pyrex pan - showing off the layers as well as the perfectly browned meringue! He actually made it before work! Additionally he made it EXACTLY as posted - he is much more assiduous about following recipe directions. Wonderful, unctuous & not too sweet - this really aided in my recovery several weeks ago! I was suprised to read the custard wasn't cooled to room temp before layering with the bananas - I prefer my banana to stay firm & they suprisingly did even with the hot custard. I will make this again (may let custard cool a bit to avoid the dreaded cooked banana) - for guests as well because the presentation (and the taste) is homey perfection! Thank you for posting, Carrie!