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Banana Cream Pie

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A DISH TO DIE FOR is the twelfth book in the Key West Food Critic Mysteries by Lucy Burdette. Filled with endearing characters, mouthwatering food, a tropical locale, and a doozy of a murder, this book will satisfy both armchair detectives and travelers alike. Protagonist Hayley Snow is settling into married life with her detective husband, Nathan, and making their houseboat in Key West a home. Her close friend, octogenarian Miss Gloria, lives next door, and between them, has a menagerie of adorable pets. The author has created a loveable cast of characters that make each book feel you’re visiting with friends. I love the close relationship Hayley has with her friends and family, and am glad that with each book, a new family member is introduced. In this newest release, Hayley’s father-in-law—a retired detective turned consultant—decides to visit the newlyweds. This gives the characters an opportunity to change and grow while giving the reader a glimpse into the psyche of the characters as each conflict is faced.

Set against the backdrop of the Florida Keys, Ms. Burdette captures the tropical spirit of the islands: gentle lapping waves, sandy beaches, seafood dishes, and fruity libations. It draws the reader in, lulling them into a sense of relaxation… that is until murder strikes. And, of course, Hayley, known as the murder magnet, is there when Nathan’s dog finds the victim. Hayley doesn’t plan on getting involved, but when a second attack occurs, she decides it’s time to ask questions. I appreciate that both her husband and her father-in-law don’t tell her to stay home and stay safe. Instead, they recognize her intelligence and pay attention to the information she uncovers. Entwined with the current day murder is a mysterious diary connected to a vintage cookbook. At first, I didn’t see how it was connected at all, but under the expert plotting of Ms. Burdette, it all came together in a cohesive story. The reveal was quite unique and I appreciated the gentle approach the author took. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and the opportunity to join Hayley and her friends for another Key West adventure!

Being a food critic, Hayley’s life revolves around food. Not only does she visit restaurants galore, but her mother is a caterer, and Hayley herself enjoys cooking. I loved how the author uses the Key West Women’s Club vintage cookbook along with their updated cookbook, not only for the mystery, but for the food and recipes included at the back of the book as well. It’s well worthwhile to read the afterward in the book, along with perusing the recipes. The recipe for Banana Cream Pie caught my eye for the nostalgic memories of eating this dessert as a kid. The author updated the recipe by using a graham cracker crust, which in my mind is brilliant. The vanilla filling is creamy and the ripe bananas added just the right amount of sweetness. I liked the light and fluffy meringue, which was the perfect accompaniment to the rich filling. Chilled, this pie is a nice dessert option for hot summer evenings.

 

This banana cream pie has a rich, vanilla-flavored creamy filling that complements the sweet bananas. With an airy meringue topping, this chilled pie is the perfect dessert for hot summer evenings. Recipe shared with permission granted by Lucy Burdette, author of A DISH TO DIE FOR.

 

Amazon Synopsis

Peace and quiet are hard to find in bustling Key West, so Hayley Snow, food critic for Key Zest magazine, is taking the afternoon off for a tranquil lunch with a friend outside of town. As they are enjoying the wild beach and the lunch, she realizes that her husband Nathan’s dog, Ziggy, has disappeared. She follows his barking, to find him furiously digging at a shallow grave with a man’s body in it. Davis Jager, a local birdwatcher, identifies him as GG Garcia, a rabble-rousing Key West local and developer. Garcia was famous for over-development on the fragile Keys, womanizing, and refusing to follow city rules—so it’s no wonder he had a few enemies.

When Davis is attacked in the parking lot of a local restaurant after talking to Hayley and her dear friend, the octogenarian Miss Gloria, Hayley is slowly but surely drawn into the case. Hayley’s mother, Janet, has been hired to cater GG’s memorial service reception at the local Woman’s Club, using recipes from their vintage Key West cookbook—and Hayley and Miss Gloria sign on to work with her, hoping to cook up some clues by observing the mourners.

But the real clues appear when Hayley begins to study the old cookbook, as whispers of old secrets come to life, dragging the past into the present—with murderous results.

 

 

 

 

A special thanks to Lucy Burdette for providing a print copy of A DISH TO DIE FOR. Contest ends August 28, 2022 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This banana cream pie has a rich, vanilla-flavored creamy filling that complements the sweet bananas. With an airy meringue topping, this chilled pie is the perfect dessert for hot summer evenings. Recipe shared with permission granted by Lucy Burdette, author of A DISH TO DIE FOR.

 

Print
Banana Cream Pie

One of the plot strands in A DISH TO DIE FOR has to do with the Woman's Club in Key West, which is a gorgeous old home on Duval Street. I took a tour of the building in the spring of 2021 and was the happy recipient of the 1988 version of their cookbook. I had also found an earlier edition of the book on eBay that had been published in 1949. Oh my, the recipes and stories in those cookbooks had my mind racing with possibilities!

This banana cream pie was served to Hayley and Martha Hubbard while they were probing a suspect. I chose to make a graham cracker crust, but any crust is fine. The recipe is based on the version in the 1988 cookbook.

Ingredients
For the crust:
  • 1 package graham crackers (nine sheets)
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
For the filling:
  • 3 eggs, room temperature, separated
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 ripe bananas
For the meringue:
  • 3 egg whites (see above)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
For the crust:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

  2. Smash or whirl the crackers to crumbs.

  3. Melt the butter. Stir the butter and sugar into the crumbs and press this mixture into the bottom and sides of a 10-inch pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes and let that cool.

For the filling:

  1. Separate the eggs and set the whites aside. Beat the yolks with the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cold water until thick and smooth.

  2. Heat the milk until it's about to boil, then cool for a few minutes and stir it very slowly into the egg mixture. Cook this mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until the pudding thickens (about 5 minutes). Let that cool a bit and then mix in the vanilla and butter.

  3. Slice the bananas into the pie crust. Spread the pudding on top of the bananas.

  4. For the meringue, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with the cream of tartar until soft peaks appear. Continue beating while slowly adding the sugar until peaks are stiff and glossy (about five minutes).

  5. Mound the meringue onto the pudding, arranging it into peaks.

  6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the meringue begins to brown.

  7. Refrigerate the pie for 3 hours before serving.

Cinnamon & Sugar's Notes:

  1. If you're not serving this pie soon after chilling for 3 hours, you may want to consider tossing the sliced bananas with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

  2. The recipe makes a full-sized 10-inch pie. I chose to reduce the recipe and made a 7-inch sized pie to accommodate only having 2 in my household.

 

This banana cream pie has a rich, vanilla-flavored creamy filling that complements the sweet bananas. With an airy meringue topping, this chilled pie is the perfect dessert for hot summer evenings. Recipe shared with permission granted by Lucy Burdette, author of A DISH TO DIE FOR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This banana cream pie has a rich, vanilla-flavored creamy filling that complements the sweet bananas. With an airy meringue topping, this chilled pie is the perfect dessert for hot summer evenings. Recipe shared with permission granted by Lucy Burdette, author of A DISH TO DIE FOR.

 

 

 

 

 

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

 

This banana cream pie has a rich, vanilla-flavored creamy filling that complements the sweet bananas. With an airy meringue topping, this chilled pie is the perfect dessert for hot summer evenings. Recipe shared with permission granted by Lucy Burdette, author of A DISH TO DIE FOR.

 

 

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55 thoughts on “Banana Cream Pie”

  1. I have! Sometimes it is the only way to find something similar to what my grandmother made when I was a kid. I have a handful of those types of books, just enough different to be interesting!

  3. Absolutely! I love and collect community cookbooks, they have the best recipes. It’s fun to look through and see what dishes are staples in totally different areas.

  4. I have a large collection of community cookbooks and love to make the dishes in them. That recipe is some family’s favorite so, of course, I have to try it. I’ve found some favorites of my own.

  7. Awesome! Love bananas in any form, but especially banana crem pie…Must try this recipe, and I am sure it will be a killer😹😹

  8. This such a great series and so many wonderful recipes. Having spent a few vacations on Key West I love being able to recognize some of the location points in Ms. Burdette’s stories. I am not a huge fan of banana cream pie but know several people who will be happy if I make it for them. Thank you Krista for your awesome blog, and thank you to Lucy for the giveaway!

  9. Luis Nunez Bernucci
    Awesome! Love bananas in any form, but especially banana crem pie…Must try this recipe, and I am sure it will be a killer!!!

  10. I do try to attempt to make from a recipe from a community cookbook. Learned a real good French toast. 👍

  12. Yes! I’ve found that a lot of the best recipes that way…and they’re usually fairly easy to follow too!

  13. I have several that I’ve purchased. My daughter and her church group had to contribute to one. So of course, I bought several! For family and friends. 😊

  14. I’ve used Community Cookbooks in the past.
    Don’t cook much anymore, so I’m not trying
    out a lot of new recipes. My husband loved
    banana cream pie. thanks
    txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

  15. Hi, yes I do , I have a community cookbook and it has some good recipes in it. This book sounds like a great read and the banana cream pie recipe sounds Delicious, I love Banana Cream pie, thank you so much for sharing the recipe. Have a great week and stay safe.

  16. I have made a few recipes from my church’s cookbook, but that is about it. This recipe looks delicious! Book sounds like a great read!

  17. Growing up in the Midwest, my Mom was proud to be a “homemaker”, amongst other things. So yeah, that’s how we were taught. Groups of all backgrounds have the best recipes! I just LOVE banana pie, so I can’t wait to make this recipe!

  24. I have several community cookbooks – and yes, I do make recipes from them. In fact, I even have a couple traditional goto recipes from those books.

  25. I do love community cook books and local church cook books as well. I have many and have many favorite recipes out of them. I often look through them to find a new “old” recipe to try too.

  26. I don’t do community cookbooks. I do have a nice collection of Author Cookbooks written by multiple authors in one book. I also collect cookbooks written by individual authors. They are fun to read and even more fun trying to convert many of the best ones for a Kosher Kitchen. LOL

  31. I have used community cookbooks before and even have a few old ones from different places.

  33. Yes, I have made recipes from community cookbooks. You can find some really good recipes in those cookbooks because people submit their favorite recipes.

  36. I do not usually make recipes from community cookbooks. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.

  39. Yes I do make recipes from community cookbooks! I love community cookbooks! Thanks for the chance!

  42. No, I’ve never made a recipe from a community cookbook but I have from cozy mystery novels that center on cooking. I love this series! Thanks for the giveaway!

  46. I have from church cookbooks and community cookbooks. Delicious recipes.
    Thank you for the chance. The book sounds interesting and fun to read. The pie sounds yummy.

  47. I have several very old church lady cookbooks. Those and my red gingham Betty Crocker are my favorites–along with the unique pink gingham version of the Betty Crocker cookbook for breast cancer awareness (I have lost several in my family–including my mom– to that horrid disease). While the Key West cookbook (both versions) sounds like there may be many recipes I would enjoy–I am with Hailey in saying the idea of anything with turtle sounds positively disgusting! Lol! The banana pie though–will be made very soon here. I am thinking of a way to incorporate peanut butter without taking away the original flavor. I may try to stir some peanut butter into the pudding or possibly spread some on the bananas at the bottom of the crust. My favorite son and I both love all things peanut butter and banana–no chocolate, though as many others would do. I used to help my great-grandmother make homemade pies every week for the family. This recipe brought back many wonderful memories.

  49. I’ve used community cookbooks, and once contributed a recipe. They are great places to find proven, good recipes

  50. I have recipes I use that have been handed down in my family and my husband’s family. I have not used community cookbooks…..yet!

  51. I haven’t had banana pie OR banana pudding in years! My grandma used to make them all the time, but she’s gone now. I do admit to having a thing for Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream though!!

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