Classic Banana Bread

Several years ago I found a really easy looking banana bread recipe in a magazine. Eventually I ended up making changes to the recipe usually due to not having enough of an ingredient or figuring more can't hurt.

Here's what it's become today.

It's also a great recipe for splitting into smaller loaves, I either break it into half or quarters, these are really perfect for giving to teachers as gifts. You just need to drop the cooking time down to between 35 and 45 minutes.

This is a really adaptable recipe, you can add just about anything you like to the batter and it'll come out great each time. Chocolate chips and many varieties of nuts would be good.

3 bananas
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tea baking soda
dash of salt
1/4 cup butter melted, I put it in a bowl and set it on the stove as it's preheating

Preheat oven to 325.

In a large bowl smash bananas (as much or as little as you like), add sugar and egg.

Combine dry ingredients then add to wet.

Add melted butter until just combined.

Pour into greased loaf pan and bake 70 minutes. Or for individual loaves, pour into greased mini pans and bake 35 to 45 minutes.

Custard Pie and one with Coconut

My mom loves coconut custard pie, or really any dessert with coconut. For Easter this year I figured a egg custard pie was appropriate and this recipe is easily adaptable to add coconut.

To be able to make my mom her coconut and the rest of us plain custard pies I used: a package of 6 pot pie pans with lids (easier storage, I don't have to fight the plastic wrap), 2 9 inch premade pie crusts because I haven't figured out how to make a good one from scratch yet, 4 eggs, sugar, milk, whipping cream, vanilla extract, salt and sweetened flake coconut. And of course I forgot the ground nutmeg when taking the photo, and it is optional or you can add cinnamon.

I probably could have gotten the pie crust into the sixth pan but the filling wouldn't have stretched that far.

In a medium pot, add 1 cup milk, 1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream and about a 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Bring just to a boil and remember to watch it carefully, milk hates to be boiled and shows it's revenge the minute you turn your back on it. Just try it and see the mess you'll have to clean up.

You can use a hand mixer but not when trying to take photos. Blend 3 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk (save that white!), 3/4 cup granulated white sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

When the milk is just to boiling turn it off and stir it around a bit, with a small cup, carefully (it's still hot) and slowly, with the mixer on low, add some of the milk to the eggs. Wait a minute or two and add another cup. Repeat this process until all the milk is added to the eggs.

If you did it slowly and carefully, this is what you get, no scrambled eggs and no 2nd degree burns.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remember that egg white we saved? Use it to brush the insides and edges of the crusts with.

I added just about a 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut to the center pie crust for mom, then ladled (with a measuring spoon) the custard evenly between the pans.

I tried to get them as even as I could, and carefully put the pan in the oven.

I baked for 30 minutes then checked the crust for browning, mine was fine but if yours is getting too brown, very very carefully cover the edges with aluminum foil.

Turn the oven down to 250 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes.

Ta Da!! After pulling the from the oven go ahead and get them off that hot pan and onto a cooling rack, let cool for 2 hours and you can serve warm or use the nifty lids that came with the pans and stick in the fridge overnight and eat cool the next day.

Mom preferred the coconut, but well I knew she would and since I won't eat processed coconut I can't compare but my plain custard was pretty tasty.

Ingredients

6 inch pot pies pans
2 9 inch pie crusts
3 eggs, 1 separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F

Roll out the pie crusts and shape into pans.

In a saucepan, combine the nutmeg, milk and heavy cream. Heat until just starting to boil - Carefully! You have to watch it.

In a mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, blend the one egg yolk, the three whole eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla.

Slowly... add in the hot milk mixture using a ladle or small cup, with the mixer on low, continuing to beat so the egg mixture already in the bowl does not scramble.

Place the pie pans on a cookie sheet. Brush the insides with the egg white.

Add 1/2 cup of coconut to each crust.

Carefully pour the custard mixture into the pie crust.

Bake for 30 minutes then check for crust browning, if needed, very very carefully add aluminum foil strips to cover the edges.

Reduce the oven temp to 250°, and bake for about another 25 minutes. It's done when still slightly jiggly but not liquidy.

Remove from oven and cool on rack. Serve at room temperature or chill overnight and serve cold.

Banana Pudding Parfait

This is the most often served dessert around my family. So easy to make, really just read the box. But I've taken to making individual servings, mostly so I don't have to find a big bowl to put the whole mess into, just 5 glasses since there are 5 of us.

Stuff: Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding mix, very important it won't taste right if you use instant and the banana flavored pudding is just wrong, fresh bananas, milk anything over skim, skim milk does not work for puddings, and I used the new mini Nilla wafers but if you can't find them the regular sized ones will work. The glasses I use are I believe 8 oz old fashioned size.

First put a layer of wafers into the bottom of the glasses.

Next go ahead and get your bananas sliced up, I used 3 medium bananas for one box of pudding.

Follow the directions for cooking the vanilla pudding, it's easier to whisk the mix into the milk than the other way around, bring to just a boil. Let the pudding cool down so it's not bubbling anymore.

Then throw in the banana slices. Get those stirred in.


I can't pour and take a picture so pour the pudding into the glasses just a couple spoonfuls each, then top with more wafers.


Add the last of the pudding to each glass and that's it. If you want to cool them down in the fridge take a piece of plastic wrap and cover each glass. These can be eaten still warm or completely chilled.