Recipe: Banana Cream Pie/Lemon Cream Pie

BANANA CREAM PIE

One 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups half-and-half
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large, ripe bananas

In a medium-sized bowl, mix egg yolks slightly. Set aside. In the top of a double boiler over boiling water, combine sugar, flour, salt and half-and-half. Stir constantly until mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Add 1/2 cup hot mixture to egg yolks and beat. Return egg-yolk mixture to mixture in double boiler and stir constantly until mixture boils again. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Slice the bananas and layer half of them on the graham-cracker crust. Pour half the hot custard over bananas and arrange remaining bananas over custard. Pour remaining custard over top layer of bananas. Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, prepare

TOPPING:
Whip 1 cup heavy cream with 1 tsp. vanilla until stiff. Pile on top of pie and keep refrigerated.

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LEMON CREAM PIE
This is always really popular with our guests

4 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 275 F. Beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until stiff. Add sugar and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Spread meringue into a WELL GREASED 9-inch pie pan shaping it like a pie shell. Make sure you bring the sides up high. Bake for 1 hour, or until meringue is firm and golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.

5 egg yolks
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice-can mix in some bottled
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. sugar

In the top of a double boiler over boiling water combine egg yolks, lemon juice, the 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Stir constantly until thick and custard-like. Stir in the lemon rind.
In another bowl, beat cream until stiff. Add vanilla and the 3 Tbsp. sugar and beat again. Spread half the cream in meringue shell. Spread lemon custard on cream. Put remaining cream on top of custard and refrigerate a day before serving.