Maya Angelou's Man-Winning Banana Pudding/Banana Pie W. Meringue
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...
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DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt; stir until blended.
- Mix in milk.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and boiling; boil 1 minute and remove from heat.
- 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.
- Stir in butter and vanilla until blended.
- 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.
- Top with layers of banana slices and custard.
- Repeat layering, ending with custard.
- 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.
- Spoon meringue over hot custard immediately, making sure the meringue touches the baking dish on all sides (this prevents shrinking).
- Transfer to oven and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
- Remove pudding from oven and cool 1 hour.
- Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.