Baking Holiday Cheer — Banana Cream Pie

Baking Holiday Cheer — Banana Cream Pie

Its December, which means the holidays are here! For most people this means: decorating the house, searching for the perfect gift, family lunches and dinners, holiday cookies and baking, Stockings, christmas trees or other holiday traditions.

BUT what about the people that dont have homes, familes or a hope for a warm fuzzy holiday??

Thats what Baking Holiday Cheer is for! Starting December 1st and ending December 23rd 2010, we will have guest bakers here at www.bigbearswife.com for the 2010 Baking Holiday Cheer.

On their assigned day, these awesome bakers will share their Favorite Recipe and Some Photos of their creations!

Then as a 2010 Baking Holiday Cheer Baker they will deliver the baked goodies to a shelter in need in their area!

Today we have Sara from Saucy Dipper

Sara donated her goodies to to the Denver Rescue Mission. Thank You Sara!

Turning the blog over to her:


Get Rebellious this Holiday Season. Think Bananas.

Most holiday tables are lined with pumpkin pies, apple pies, and pecan pies, but few see banana cream pies. Not mine this year! As part of my contribution to the Baking Holiday Cheer bake off, I made two banana cream pies.

One pie went to the Denver Rescue Mission (along with gingerbread cookies and cranberry sauce), and the other went to my in-laws house. While there was a delicious pumpkin pie on our holiday table this year, the banana cream pie was the crowd favorite. I recommend you give it a try.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

*6 tbsp. butter

*8 graham crackers (1 packet)

*1/3 cup sugar

*1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions: While you melt the butter, put the graham crackers in a Ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin. Once you have graham cracker crumbs, empty bag in mixing bowl and add the melted butter and the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Dump mixture into pie pan and form crust with your (clean) hands. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

Custard Filling

*1 cup sugar

*1/2 cup flour

*1/3 cup corn starch

*3 cups whole milk

*4 egg yolks

*2 tbsp. butter

*1 tsp. vanilla

*1 large banana

Directions: Pour sugar, flour, and cornstarch into a sauce pan. Add the milk and stir with a heat resistant spatula. Continue stirring until the liquid starts to thicken and you see ribbons. Before adding the egg yolks, slightly beat and add a couple spoonfuls of the custard to temper. Pour the eggs into the sauce pan and continue to stir for two minutes. Add butter and vanilla stirring all the while until butter is melted. Remove from heat. Slice the banana and place on pie crust. Pour the custard over the top of the banana pieces. Place pie in the refrigerator. Before you serve, you’ll want to make sure it’s nice and cold.

Notes: You may want to lift the sauce pan from heat occasionally as you stir. The custard can burn quick, so keep a close eye on it. Also, feel free to add more bananas. You can’t have too many bananas.

Toppings: Don’t forget the whipped cream! I added a touch of vanilla and sifted powdered sugar (to prevent lumps) to some heavy whipping cream and whipped my own. I also made a homemade caramel sauce and drizzled that over the top of the pie. You don’t need much caramel; this banana cream pie is pretty sweet.

Sara Lancaster writes all about her sauce and dip adventures over at SaucyDipper.com
. She also coordinates a regular event called Dipstock, which encourages other dip lovers to host dip parties in their home instead of dinner parties. You’re invited!