Banana Cream Filling

Vanilla custard pie filling.

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Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
1/2 bean vanilla, scraped, or 1/2 tbsp extract
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat.
Immediately turn off the heat and set aside.
In a small bowl, whish the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of hot milk. This needs to be completely smooth.
In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until no lumps remain.
Whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
Make sure there isn't a skin on the milk. If there is, pick it up with a fork and discard.
Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk while whisking.
Keep adding 1/4 cup of milk at a time while continuously whisking.
Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan (make sure it's clean).
CAUTION - NEXT STEP NEEDS A LOT OF ATTENTION
Cook over medium heat, while whisking constantly, until *slightly thickened* and possibly slowly boiling. IF YOU SEE ANY LUMPS, IIMMEDIATELY remove from heat and whisk like mad. We do NOT want to make sweet scrambled eggs. If the custard has any lumps at this point, immediately add the butter, and 1/4 cup of milk, and keep whisking like mad until you get something silky smooth.
Remove from heat, stir in the butter, and let cool at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before pouring into the crust. This will give the best presentation, but requires some planning.
If you're saving the custard to use later, remove or stir in any skin that forms on top, cover with clingwrap so the entire surface is in contact with the filling. This prevents a skin from forming while it's chilling. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve (max 24 hours). Since we're covering the custard (with slices of banana and/or whipped cream), it doesn't need to look pretty when it's scooped into the pie crust - just level it out as best as you can.

Notes

The custard by itself is great as pie filling, but if you want to add some pieces of fruit, stir them in after the custard starts to cool, and make sure the pieces are completely covered - especially for bananas. Any exposed part might start to brown.
Make sure the clingwrap is in contact with all the surface of the custard. This prevents a skin from forming. I won't tell if you lick the plastic after you remove it.
You might want to remove the filling and let it sit at room temperature for an hour before using, depending on what you're doing. For filling a baked pie crust, this isn't necessary; just pour the warm custard, let cool to room temp, and then refrigerate for at least an hour before topping and serving.
If you happened to make sweet scrambled eggs, don't worry - I got you. Let it cool down, and load it up with fruit. Make sure your final pie is well-decorated with fruit and whipped cream on top, and nobody will notice.