Banana magic 2

Sometimes you just want something sweet, hot, quick and simple. Mom had the answer: banana or apple custard.

Just make up half a pint of custard, and either slice a banana or grate an eating apple into it. Leave to stand until lukewarm, when the custard will have absorbed the flavour of the fruit. Just lovely!

When I went to senior school, they did something they called banana custard, but it was very different. Firstly it was a custard tart - pastry base, set custard, sliced banana. Secondly it was cold. It had its merits, sure, but what would have been good was if the custard had some of the flavour of the banana. So I suggested this to the dinner ladies. One wasn't sure if they could do anything about it, but another one winked and said "We'll see what we can do luv".

They actually did warm the tart up next time it was served, but the flavour of the banana still didn't come through enough. The weather was now warming up, and I resigned myself to not having my treat at school. Next time I had it at school though, there was a bit of a surprise: piped cream on top of the tart. Actually this was an improvement.

I can't say whether they kept experimenting with the dish because at the start of the next school year I started to bring in sandwiches for lunch. I suppose now they might serve Banoffee Pie, but I'd actually quite like to revisit a banana custard tart with the toffee sauce maybe.