Southern "Down Home" Desserts

Whether on the plantation or in the trailer park, southern desserts are rich with tradition, taking the best of available fruits and even vegetables from many different sources.

Banana Pudding

Desserts Food

No one is quite sure about who made the first banana pudding, but it's a sure thing as to who's eating most of it, so we'll claim it down south--ya'll.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 1/2 cups sugar 2 (12 oz.) cans evaporated milk 1/2 stick butter 4 egg yolks 6 bananas sliced to 1/2 inch thickness Vanilla Wafers 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Set a large heavy saucepan on low heat. Add sugar, flour and salt. Pour in the evaporated milk stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken slowly, about 15 minutes. Separate eggs and lightly beat the egg yolks in bowl. Add a cup of the thickened milk mixture to the eggs and whisk. Add the egg mixture into the saucepan and whisk vigorously until mixture is well mixed. Remove the saucepan and stir in the butter and the vanilla extract. Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover. Let cool in refrigerator for 2 hours. Into a large baking dish, add a layer of vanilla wafers then a layer of sliced bananas, and top with pudding. Repeat the layers. Top with more wafers. The only thing better than banana pudding is banana pudding the next day!

Key Lime Pie

The history of Key Lime pie has absolutely no doubt. Key limes grow naturally in Florida. They're smaller than the domesticated Persian lime that we are used to seeing in the grocery store-but they're more aromatic and acidic than their tamer cousins. Real key lime pie is made with real key limes. Anything else is just a lime pie.

Ingredients

Crust: 16 crushed graham crackers 3 tbsp. sugar 1/4 lb. margarine or butter (melted)

Pie: 4 egg yolks 1/2 c. fresh key lime juice 2 tbsp. grated lime peel 1 (14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

Directions Mix the crushed graham crackers with the sugar. Pour the butter in. Put the mixture in a 9" pie pan and gently press into place. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, until the crust is light brown in color. Let it cool.

Beat the eggs until they turn thick and light yellow in color (a mixer helps). While mixing on a low speed, add in the condensed milk as well as half of the lime juice. When it's all mixed together, add the rest of the lime juice as well as the lime peel and continue mixing until it is completely blended. Pour this mixture onto the cooled pie crust. Bake in the oven (again, 350 degrees) for about 10 - 12 minutes. Be careful that it doesn't take on a rubber-like texture. Let the pie cool a bit, then top with whipped cream and chill until ready to serve.

As always, the main thing to remember about Southern cooking is to keep it authentic. Your family will appreciate it and you can take pride in knowing you're carrying on a rich tradition.

Southern "Down Home" Desserts

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Southern "Down Home" Desserts

Whether on the plantation or in the trailer park, southern desserts are rich with tradition, taking the best of available fruits and even vegetables from many different sources.

Banana Pudding

No one is quite sure about who made the first banana pudding, but it's a sure thing as to who's eating most of it, so we'll claim it down south--ya'll.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 1/2 cups sugar 2 (12 oz.) cans evaporated milk 1/2 stick butter 4 egg yolks 6 bananas sliced to 1/2 inch thickness Vanilla Wafers 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Set a large heavy saucepan on low heat. Add sugar, flour and salt. Pour in the evaporated milk stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken slowly, about 15 minutes. Separate eggs and lightly beat the egg yolks in bowl. Add a cup of the thickened milk mixture to the eggs and whisk. Add the egg mixture into the saucepan and whisk vigorously until mixture is well mixed. Remove the saucepan and stir in the butter and the vanilla extract. Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover. Let cool in refrigerator for 2 hours. Into a large baking dish, add a layer of vanilla wafers then a layer of sliced bananas, and top with pudding. Repeat the layers. Top with more wafers. The only thing better than banana pudding is banana pudding the next day!

Key Lime Pie

The history of Key Lime pie has absolutely no doubt. Key limes grow naturally in Florida. They're smaller than the domesticated Persian lime that we are used to seeing in the grocery store-but they're more aromatic and acidic than their tamer cousins. Real key lime pie is made with real key limes. Anything else is just a lime pie.

Ingredients

Crust: 16 crushed graham crackers 3 tbsp. sugar 1/4 lb. margarine or butter (melted)

Pie: 4 egg yolks 1/2 c. fresh key lime juice 2 tbsp. grated lime peel 1 (14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

Directions Mix the crushed graham crackers with the sugar. Pour the butter in. Put the mixture in a 9" pie pan and gently press into place. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, until the crust is light brown in color. Let it cool.

Beat the eggs until they turn thick and light yellow in color (a mixer helps). While mixing on a low speed, add in the condensed milk as well as half of the lime juice. When it's all mixed together, add the rest of the lime juice as well as the lime peel and continue mixing until it is completely blended. Pour this mixture onto the cooled pie crust. Bake in the oven (again, 350 degrees) for about 10 - 12 minutes. Be careful that it doesn't take on a rubber-like texture. Let the pie cool a bit, then top with whipped cream and chill until ready to serve.

As always, the main thing to remember about Southern cooking is to keep it authentic. Your family will appreciate it and you can take pride in knowing you're carrying on a rich tradition.

If you're looking for recipes, take a look at the Platinum Recipes Collection. The Platinum Recipes Collection is the Internet's Most Comprehensive Recipes Collection.

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Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe, A Classic Southern Dessert

Lemon Meringue Pie is one of the classic southern recipes that should be made at home. It is easy to make and the flavor of the homemade version far out shines the store bought or frozen variety. The lemon meringue pie recipe consists of 3 parts: the pie shell, the custard, and the meringue.

This recipe uses a pre-baked pie shell to make it easy, however you can make your own if you prefer. Use a pastry shell, not a graham or cookie crust so that the meringue will seal properly.

For meringue recipes, I prefer to use pasteurized eggs. Pasteurized eggs have been pasteurized to kill any germs and are safe for foods such as meringue which may not otherwise receive enough cooking. Pasteurized eggs are available at most supermarkets these days, but if they are not available in your area, you can substitute the powdered pasteurized egg whites which can be found in your baking section. (Substitute only for the whites, not the yolks.)

Bring the egg whites to room temperature before beating. This will encourage whipping and result in greater volume in your meringue.

Serious cooks keep a copper bowl to beat their egg whites in, but I make meringue just fine in my ceramic bowl. I wouldn't use plastic, because the bowl must be absolutely clean. Any trace of oil or grease that might cling to plastic will keep the whites from beating properly. This applies to your beaters, also. Make sure they are perfectly clean.

Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

1 pre-baked pie shell

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

5 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup cold water

3 egg yolks from pasteurized eggs, save whites for meringue

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons butter

grated zest of 1 lemon

Meringue

3 egg whites from pasteurized eggs,

3 Tablespoons sugar

Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and cold water in a saucepan.
Add the egg yolks. Blend well.

Add the boiling water, bring back to a boil and simmer for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest and butter.

Pour into pie shell.

Make the Meringue:

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks will hold their shape when mounded.

Gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time. Beat until combined and no sugar crystals remain.

Spread on top of the pie. Spread the meringue to the edge of the pie so that it seals with the pie shell.

Bake at 325 degrees until golden brown.

I hope you will try this lemon meringue pie recipe. It will quickly become a family favorite.

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Diane Watkins is a traditional southern style cook. She enjoys cooking, teaching, and writing about good food and family. For more information on southern cooking and recipes visit her website at Easy Southern Cooking

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