Warning: This recipe may cause you to lock yourself in the closet with a very large spoon. It is totally possible you could eat the entire pan of pudding if you do not take precautions.
I’m telling you, if the Pilgrims had bananas they would have made this everyday of the week! If you need a special recipe to bring to a potluck, a sick friend, or just something nice to bring to your Mother’s house on Mother’s Day… This is it.
How to Make Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 3 cups milk
- 8 eggs , separated
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups vanilla wafers
- 4 ripe bananas , thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt and stir until blended. Mix in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and boiling. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.
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In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, then whisk in about 1/2 cup of hot custard until blended. Pour yolk mixture back into saucepan of custard; cook over medium heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla until blended.
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Place vanilla wafers on bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish. Top with layers of banana slices and custard. Repeat layering, ending with custard.
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In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar at low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar; increase speed to medium and gradually beat in remaining sugar. Beat until egg whites hold stiff peaks.
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Spoon meringue over hot custard immediately, making sure that meringue touches baking dish on all sides (this prevents it from shrinking). Transfer to oven and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove pudding from oven and cool 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
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Susan says
This looks delicious!! I just happen to have a box of vanilla wafers (and all the other ingredients) that I got recently in a Clearance cart at QFC for .69!
I will be making this in the next day or 2 🙂
Krista says
Mavis I’m just loving those frilly edged baking dishes you have! I love your pie plate already and now this one. And the banana pudding….oh damn….that looks amazing.
Mavis says
Thank you! :0
Carin says
I live in the south and there is nothing better than homemade banana pudding! I always make two -one for me and one for everybody else! 🙂
Melanie says
Thank you for showing people what a real banana pudding is. I look forward to trying this (have been making the one from Nabisco with a stirred custard for years). There is no comparison to the instant/short cut versions with packaged pudding. And it SMELLS SO GOOD when you are cooking that custard! Memories from a North Carolina childhood!
Keva says
I would love to try this recipe, but I’m a bit lost about the vanilla wafer. I can see in the photos that it is a round looking biscuit??? In Australia, vanilla wafers are long rectangular biscuits with layers in them. I wonder if this is a comparable product? I have googled vanilla wafer’s and I’m not sure. Will any biscuit do?
Mavis Butterfield says
Although it’s not the same thing as a vanilla wafer, I think Arnott’s Nice biscuits might be a good substitute. 🙂