Mini Banana Cream Pie in a Jar
By America's Test Kitchen KidsPublished on February 17, 2023
Time
40 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling time
Yield
Serves 4
What Kids Are Saying
"It was very fun to make and I would do it a million more times!" —Katie, recipe tester, age 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
To make 1 cup whipped cream: In large bowl, combine ½ cup cold heavy cream, 1½ teaspoons sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Use electric mixer on medium-low speed to whip cream for 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until cream is smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and lift beaters out of cream. If cream clings to beaters and makes soft peaks that stand up on their own, you’re done. If not, keep beating and check again in 30 seconds. Don’t overwhip cream.
Instructions
- Peel 1 banana and place on cutting board. Use chef’s knife to slice banana into ½-inch-thick circles.
- In large bowl, whisk sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt until smooth and pale yellow, about 1 minute.
- In medium saucepan, combine half-and-half and sliced banana. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until mixture comes to simmer, 5 to 7 minutes (small bubbles should break often across surface of mixture). Turn off heat.
- Place bowl with egg yolk mixture on top of damp dish towel. Temper custard following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Temper Custard.”
- Place fine-mesh strainer over medium bowl. Use rubber spatula to scrape custard into fine-mesh strainer (ask an adult for help—saucepan will be heavy and hot). Gently stir and press custard through strainer (do not try to force banana pieces through strainer). Discard solids in strainer.
- Add butter and vanilla to custard and whisk until butter is melted. Press sheet of plastic wrap directly onto surface of custard. Place bowl in refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
- When custard is chilled, place cracker pieces in large zipper-lock plastic bag. Press out as much air as possible from bag and seal bag. Use rolling pin to gently crush graham crackers into crumbs. Measure out 4 tablespoons crumbs and place in bottoms of 4 (4-ounce) jars or small drinking glasses, dividing equally.
- Peel remaining banana. Slice banana into ½-inch-thick circles. Use clean rubber spatula to divide chilled custard evenly among jars. Top each jar with whipped cream, banana slices, and remaining graham cracker crumbs, dividing evenly. Serve.
Time
40 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling timeYield
Serves 4What Kids Are Saying
"It was very fun to make and I would do it a million more times!" —Katie, recipe tester, age 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
What’s better than a slice of pie? A pie in a jar! These adorable “pies” are layered in mini mason jars, so they’re easy to grab and eat—plus, everyone gets their own dessert. There’s no need to make a pie crust either—a sprinkle crushed-up graham crackers in the bottom of each jar does the trick. Layered with a creamy banana custard and whipped cream and garnished with banana slices and more graham cracker crumbs, these pies are sweet and impressive. This recipe calls for egg yolks in the custard, giving kids the perfect opportunity to practice separating eggs. After cracking an egg into a bowl, have kids observe the white and the yolk. Then, as they use their hand to transfer the yolk to a second bowl, ask kids to describe how the whites and yolks feel. How are they similar? How are they different? Egg whites are made of mostly water and some protein, which is why they appear thin and watery. And yolks are made of water, fat, and protein, so they have a thicker consistency. (Make sure kids wash their hands once they’re done handling the raw eggs!)
Before You Begin
To make 1 cup whipped cream: In large bowl, combine ½ cup cold heavy cream, 1½ teaspoons sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Use electric mixer on medium-low speed to whip cream for 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until cream is smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and lift beaters out of cream. If cream clings to beaters and makes soft peaks that stand up on their own, you’re done. If not, keep beating and check again in 30 seconds. Don’t overwhip cream.
Instructions
- Peel 1 banana and place on cutting board. Use chef’s knife to slice banana into ½-inch-thick circles.
- In large bowl, whisk sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt until smooth and pale yellow, about 1 minute.
- In medium saucepan, combine half-and-half and sliced banana. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until mixture comes to simmer, 5 to 7 minutes (small bubbles should break often across surface of mixture). Turn off heat.
- Place bowl with egg yolk mixture on top of damp dish towel. Temper custard following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Temper Custard.”
- Place fine-mesh strainer over medium bowl. Use rubber spatula to scrape custard into fine-mesh strainer (ask an adult for help—saucepan will be heavy and hot). Gently stir and press custard through strainer (do not try to force banana pieces through strainer). Discard solids in strainer.
- Add butter and vanilla to custard and whisk until butter is melted. Press sheet of plastic wrap directly onto surface of custard. Place bowl in refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
- When custard is chilled, place cracker pieces in large zipper-lock plastic bag. Press out as much air as possible from bag and seal bag. Use rolling pin to gently crush graham crackers into crumbs. Measure out 4 tablespoons crumbs and place in bottoms of 4 (4-ounce) jars or small drinking glasses, dividing equally.
- Peel remaining banana. Slice banana into ½-inch-thick circles. Use clean rubber spatula to divide chilled custard evenly among jars. Top each jar with whipped cream, banana slices, and remaining graham cracker crumbs, dividing evenly. Serve.
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