Maya Angelou's Banana Pudding

Overripe bananas on the kitchen counter.

There are more than a few brown spots, and the yellow fruit is simply past the point of peel-and-eat. The inside is a little mushy and the taste intensified. This is because as bananas ripen the starch in the fruit turns to sugar.

This recipe puts those very ripe bananas (or perfectly yellow bananas) to good use.

Originally found in an Oprah magazine, this recipe is also listed on the Oprah website as a celebrity favorite. It was created by Maya Angelou and is described as her "highly superior banana sweet".

You have to, have to, have to like banana to enjoy this dessert. As long as you do, you're in for a hearty treat!

Banana Pudding - from Oprah.com and the January '06 issue of O Magazine (slightly modified)

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespon sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

Pinch salt

3 cups milk

8 eggs, separated

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 cups vanilla wafers

4 ripe bananas, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

• Note: we halved the recipe and it was plenty!
• In large pot, stir together 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in milk. Cook over medium heat - keep stirring! Milk burns easily and will stick to the bottom of the pot... keep stirring until thickened mixture boils. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. This is your custard.
• In bowl, whisk egg yolks together. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot custard. Pour this mixture into the pot and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes... keep stirring. Add butter and vanilla. Stir.
• Cover bottom of shallow casserole dish with vanilla wafers. Cover with half of the banana slices, and then a layer of half the warm custard. Repeat these layers.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites and sugar together until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Gradually beat in the sugar you didn't use in the custard. Continue beating until still peaks form in the egg whites. This is your meringue.
• Spoon the meringue over custard. To stop it from shrinking while in the oven, make sure it touches the casserole dish on all sides.
• Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 20 minutes, or until golden.
• Let cool for one hour.
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.... As Maya Angelou says, "All great achievements require time."

Vanilla wafers meet bananas.

The custard spooned over the vanilla wafer crust.

Stiff peaks in the egg whites.

Meringue can be more difficult on humid days.

The stiff peaks hold up well in the heat.

Golden brown...

it looks almost like a giant toasted marshmallow.

Rhubarb Banana Crumble

We read the entire recipe section of April's Canadian Living magazine - separately. We reconvened. As Amy said, "There was one recipe that really stood out to me", Lisa chimed in and finished the sentence, "the rhubarb banana crumble!"

We've been waiting a few weeks to make this fruity dessert, and Easter seemed like an ideal time to try this cross between a strawberry rhubarb pie and apple crisp. It was an excellent ending to our quesadilla meal (see post below).

You might have noticed our mismatched crème brûlée containers (if not, don't look now!). Well we finally picked up real ramekins! Now we have uniformly sized containers that will make our baking adventures a little easier and a lot prettier.

Rhubarb Banana Crumble

(Canadian Living Magazine, April 2010)

Serves 8

5 cups sliced french or thawed drained rhubarb

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 bananas, chopped

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup cold butter, cubed

1/4 cup walnut pieces

• Toss together rhubarb, sugar, and four. Divide between 8 lightly greased ramekins or pour into a square baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in 400 F oven for 25 minutes. If using one large baking dish instead of ramekins, stir once while in oven.
• Combine oats, flour, sugars, and cinnamon. Use a knife or pastry cutter to blend in butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix in walnuts.
• Spread sliced bananas over rhubarb.
• Sprinkle crumb mixture over bananas.
• Bake, uncovered, in 350 F oven for about 25 minutes, or until bubbly and topping is light golden brown.

Frozen rhubarb - from last year's garden.

Use a pastry cutter or knife to make the crumble topping.

Foil is only needed for the first oven session.

Layer the sliced bananas over the cooked rhubarb.

Fresh out of the oven. Check out that ramekin.

We served it warm, but (if you can wait long enough)

it would probably be pretty tasty cold too.