Ingredients
- 1 9” pie pan
- 1 single piecrust
Pie filling:
- ½ cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ripe bananas
Meringue:
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- ½ cup boiling water
- 3 egg whites
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Prepare a single piecrust and press it into a 9" pie pan, fluting the crust around the pie pan rim.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over the crust and poke a few holes in the crust using fork tines.
- Bake crust at 375 degrees until it is lightly browned (usually about 10 to 12 minutes).
- Cool crust while filling is cooking.
- To prepare filling, combine sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler.
- Add milk slowly, mixing thoroughly with a whisk.
- Cook over rapidly boiling water until it is well thickened, stirring constantly (I have done this without a double boiler, stirring the mixture constantly to prevent lumps and sticking to the bottom of the pan - just watch it closely and never get it too hot…just a soft simmer).
- Cook 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
- Place eggs in a small cup and beat them lightly; add some of the hot filling to the eggs to “temper” them, then pour egg mixture back into hot filling mixture while beating quickly.
- Cook 1 minute longer.
- Remove pan from heat and add butter and extract; stir to blend it into filling.
- Cover pan with a piece of waxed paper and allow filling to cool.
- While filling is cooling, prepare meringue.
- In a small saucepan (or I use the microwave) dissolve cornstarch in cold water and then add the boiling water; cook until it is clear (this goes very quickly) – set pan aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until thick, then gradually beat in the sugar, salt and extract; beat until peaks can be formed.
- Carefully fold in the cornstarch mixture.
- When ready to assemble pie, slice bananas and place in bottom of baked crust; cover bananas immediately with cooled filling (I like to slice my bananas and coat them with just a bit of Fruit Fresh to prevent them from browning, then place them in the crust).
- Pile meringue over pie filling, being sure to bring it all the way to the fluted crust edges and sealing the filling beneath the meringue.
- Bake at 375 degrees until meringue tips/peaks are lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
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