History

Frank Fat opened the room at 806 L Street, Sacramento in November 1939, two blocks from the State Capitol, and the banana cream pie became the dessert order for legislators and lobbyists working into the night across the street. The pie was a Wing Fat family recipe from Frank's wife Mary, with a flaky pastry crust, sliced ripe bananas folded into a vanilla custard and whipped cream on top, and it has been the signature dessert at Frank Fat's continuously since the late 1940s. Three generations of the Fat family have kept the pie on the menu unchanged, and it has appeared on every list of Sacramento's defining dishes since the 1990s, the city's longest-running named restaurant dessert.

Common allergens: Egg, Dairy, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 8Hands-on 45 minTotal 4 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 blind-baked 23cm pie crust (sweet pastry)
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 40g cornflour
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 500ml whole milk
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 ripe but firm bananas, sliced 5mm thick
  • 300ml double cream
  • 30g icing sugar
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract for the cream

Method

  1. Whisk egg yolks, caster sugar, cornflour and salt in a bowl until smooth.
  2. Bring the milk just to a simmer in a saucepan. Pour slowly into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened to a thick custard, about 3 minutes.
  4. Off the heat, stir in butter and vanilla. Strain through a fine sieve and press cling film directly on the surface. Cool 30 minutes at room temperature, then chill 1 hour.
  5. Lay sliced bananas in the blind-baked crust. Spread the cooled custard over the bananas to fill the crust. Chill 2 hours until fully set.
  6. Whip cream with icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. Pile onto the pie and swirl with the back of a spoon. Serve cold.

Tip from the editors. Slice the bananas just before assembly so they don't brown. The custard must chill fully before topping with cream or the cream slides off.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat frank fat's banana cream pie

Frank Fat's Banana Cream Pie in Sacramento

Frank Fat's ★ 4.3

Chinese American$$$downtown

Frank Fat's on L Street, downtown Sacramento, is the Fat family's Chinese-American room that became the city's political-class watering hole.

Signature: Banana cream pie, Honey walnut prawns

Order: Banana cream pie at the end of the meal; honey walnut prawns

Tip: Booth seating is the photo op. Sister venues across the city under the Fat family banner.

806 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

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