I am not a big fan of anything overly sweet, from wine to banana pudding. I am not sure why, my mom always served a dessert with supper, and I remember eating them all with delight, especially the pecan pie and chocolate cakes. As a kid, we often ate sugar and butter sandwiches and going out for ice cream was a big deal, eclipsed only by my father making homemade banana ice cream in the back yard with an old hand cranked machine.
I love sweets so much that as I grew older, I realized that if I bought a half a gallon of ice cream, it was usually gone by the next morning. Something had to give, and knowing that I had no resistance to sweets, I just decided to abstain all together. To this day, even though I still love ice cream, it is a rare day indeed when I buy an ice cream cone. Old habits die hard.
When I entertain these days, I end the meal with what I call the Parting Shot. It’s a tall shot glass, or espresso cup, with a teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk, one Lindt chocolate and then filled with strong coffee. My guests love it, but I do not partake.
Maybe one day I will find the path to moderation. Fingers crossed.
Following are two of my mom’s recipes that were my favorites. Hope you give them a try.
Banana Pudding
1 recipe vanilla custard (recipe to follow)
Layer vanilla wafers, sliced bananas and custard. Top with vanilla wafers. Chill before serving.
Custard
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Scald the milk, blend eggs and add the milk. Mix flour and sugar, add milk, cook over boiling water (bain Marie) until the sauce coats a spoon. Add vanilla extract.
For hand freeze (homemade) ice cream, triple this recipe.
Pecan Pie
This was, hands down, my family’s favorite desert that mom made. Served with homemade ice cream it was stunningly good and sweet.
- 1 cup Karo syrup
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 T. melted butter
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 unbaked pie shell
Mix all, pour in shell, bake 15 min. at 400 then 30-35 min at 350