24 Hour Fruit Salad is a traditional fruity treat made with fresh fruit, pecans, and mini marshmallows - tossed in a homemade creamy egg custard and chilled overnight for all flavors to blend and intensify!
Pour the juice from the pineapple chunks and the mandarin oranges into a measuring cup - you will need one cup total - you can combine the two juices or use one and substitute water to make a full cup.
In a medium saucepan, pour that 1 cup of reserved juices. Add it to the lemon juice. Whisk in the sugar and cornstarch.
Add the eggs to the juice mixture and whisk until combined and frothy.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and constantly whisk, cooking until the mixture thickens into a light custard.
Remove from heat, stir in the tablespoon of butter, and allow to cool completely (about 1 hour).
Once the custard has cooled, fold in the whipped cream.
In a large bowl, toss together drained pineapple chunks, drained mandarin oranges, grapes, marshmallows, and pecans. Slice bananas and add them to the fruit mixture. Immediately toss with custard mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Notes
You must cook the custard for the length of time directed by the recipe otherwise, the custard will be too thin to cover the fruit or to stick to the fruit. Remember that custard becomes thicker as it cools.
Be mindful not to add any fruit to the custard until it is cool. Otherwise, the custard will become thinner and have a runny consistency.
Fruits like bananas will go brown from oxidation when cut. Squeeze lemon juice over the banana slices to help prevent this. Having the custard ready (cooled) before slicing the bananas is also helpful. The remaining fruit can be prepared in advance.
Keep your marshmallows sealed until you are ready to add them to the fruit and custard mix, so they do not dry out. Fruit-flavored mini marshmallows are also fun to use for this dessert.
Marshmallows tend to swell in the mix from absorbing liquid. As much as you love these little delights, do not add more than the recipe calls for.
The combination of fruit juices, cornstarch, and eggs makes a lovely mild custard sauce with a subtle fruity flavor. You will love the light and fresh appeal of this fruit salad!