My Name is Claudia

maryrambin:

My mother dies for banana pudding.  If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that she uses the boxed version of just about everything and I stay as far from processed foods as possible.  So when she wanted to serve banana pudding for our gold party, I insisted on making it from scratch.

I found this unique recipe for banana creme pie from Bon Appetit on Epicurious and have made it three times in a month for several different occasions.  It’s been a unanimous hit!

My three experiences allowed me to play with the recipe.  Below the original is intact with my notes. I’ve made this as a pie, pudding in a bowl, and pudding in individual cups for a party.  All three worked beautifully.

Banana Creme Filling

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 5 ripe bananas

This list will make one pie or  8 servings as pudding. If you’re going to make a pie, make crust first (see recipe below). I prefer it as pudding!

Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Gradually whisk in whipping cream and whole milk (I combine the two beforehand), then egg yolks. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add vanilla bean or 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk over medium-high heat until custard thickens and boils, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in unsalted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Discard vanilla bean if you used it. Transfer custard to large bowl; cool completely, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour.

**MR NOTES:  Initially I thought the vanilla bean would make the pudding rich and more flavorful, but the opposite was true.  From now on I will just use vanilla extract while it’s still simmering.  While it’s simmering, make sure to whisk often so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom.  After you remove the custard from the heat it will thicken quickly so don’t overcook it.

Pie Crust

• 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup mashed banana
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and mashed banana in large bowl to blend. Add unsalted butter and stir to moisten evenly. Press onto bottom and up sides of 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake crust until set and pale golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Spread 1 cup custard over bottom of prepared crust. Top with half of sliced bananas, then 1 cup custard, covering bananas completely. Repeat layering with remaining bananas and remaining custard. Chill banana cream pie until filling is set and crust softens slightly, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Pudding

I prefer just the pudding with Nilla waffers because it reminds me of the recipe my mom’s bf used to make when I was little.

Simply make a layer of waffers, then a thick layer of bananas, then a layer of pudding.  Repeat until you get to the top.  I think it also might be nice to cut chunks of banana and mix it with the custard, but I haven’t tried that yet.

I have also used little plastic cocktail cups to make individual portions at a large party. 

Fresh Whipped Creme (via)

After all of this work, don’t top it off with Cool Whip, PLEASE.  Take one more step to make it perfect!

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar or regular sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
• Electric mixer

Place a medium glass or metal bowl along with your mixing attachments in the freezer for twenty minutes.

Whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like.  Add more sugar if you want to make it sweeter.

Spread 1 cup custard over bottom of prepared crust. Top with half of sliced bananas, then 1 cup custard, covering bananas completely. Repeat layering with remaining bananas and remaining custard. Chill banana cream pie until filling is set and crust softens slightly, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

YUM

thedailywhat:

Magical Comestible of the Day: After downing several frothy mugs of butterbeer at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Amy’s thoughts immediately turned to converting the fantastical concoction into a cupcake.

Even if you have no idea what butterbeer is or have never tasted it, you will love these. Essentially, the flavor profile is that of a buttery cream soda cake, filled with butterscotch ganache, topped with a butterscotch buttercream and drizzled with more butterscotch ganache. It sounds kind of intense, but trust me on this. They’re amazing.

Don’t feel like trusting a perfect stranger? Make your own! Trust me, they’re worth it.

[craft.]

I NEED TO MAKE THESE, ASAP! I also need to re-visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

(Source: thedailywhat)

today:

TODAY: Step-by-step recipes for Parisian macarons

Talk about temptation. I just got cupcakes out of my system. Now I have to stare a recipe for macaroons in the face? MUST. HAVE. WILLPOWER.

(Source: methequeen)

jordanreid:

I was served these delicious (and easy-to-make) Oreo truffles pretty much everywhere I went while visiting Kendrick’s relatives over Thanksgiving, and asked my mother-in-law to send me the recipe. Put them in a pretty tin, and they make a lovely, personal (and inexpensive) Christmas gift.

OREO TRUFFLES

What you need:

1 package Oreo cookies, finely crushed

1 8 oz package cream cheese (no reduced fat stuff, please…we’re talking truffles here)

2 packages (8 squares each) semi-sweet chocolate, melted (in the microwave is easiest)

What you do: 

1. Mix 3 cups of the cookie crumbs with the cream cheese until well-blended.

2. Shape cookie/cream cheese mixture into 42 1” balls. 

3. Dip balls in melted chocolate (use two forks and sort of roll them around until evenly coated; allow excess to drip off) and place on wax paper. 

4. Sprinkle over remaining cookie crumbs and refrigerate at least one hour before serving. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Other decorating ideas: Adorn your truffles with sprinkles, colored sugar, or even edible glitter.

OMG, these look and sound beyond delicious. i will surely add them to my recipe collection and make them this season. and like jordan said, they make a great christmas/holiday gift.