Ingredients

serves 12

　　

Custard

6 egg yolks

　　2/3 cup sugar

　　4 tablespoons cornstarch

　　2 cups milk

　　2 teaspoons vanilla extract

　　

Fruit Mixture

1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut

　　2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

　　2 bananas, peeled and sliced

　　2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced

　　1/2 cup Triple Sec

　　6 ladyfingers

　　3 tablespoons raspberry jam

　　

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

　　1 1/2 cups sugar

　　

Step 1

First, make the custard: In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until light. Stir in the cornstarch. In a saucepan, scald the milk (do not boil it). Whisk the hot milk into the yolk mixture, then pour this back into the pan. Cook, stirring, over low heat until the custard thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the custard into a bowl and set aside to cool completely.

　　

Step 2

While the custard cools, combine the cut-up fruit with the Triple Sec. Set aside to macerate for 30 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Spread the flat sides of the ladyfingers with jam, and place them in the bottom of a pretty glass bowl. Spoon the fruit and any liquid over the ladyfingers. Pour the cooled custard over the fruit. Refrigerate, covered, until the custard has set.

　　

Step 4

Beat the cream with the sugar until it holds a fairly stiff peak. Spread the whipped cream over the chilled custard, reserving some of the cream to pipe decoratively through a pastry tube, if desired.

　　The Lady & Sons, Too! by Paula Deen. © 2001 by Paula H. Deen. Published by Random House. All Rights Reserved.Paula H. Deen was born and raised in Albany, Georgia. She later moved to Savannah, where she and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, started the Bag Lady catering company. The business took off and evolved into The Lady & Sons Restaurant, which is located in Savannah’s historic district and specializes in Southern cooking. Paula is the host of Food Network’s Paula’s Home Cooking and is a regular guest on QVC, where her cookbooks are one of the newtowrk’s biggest sellers.