Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

This recipe has become a family favorite this summer.  I’ve made this banana pudding for years, but it’s made a come-back at our house lately.  Real banana pudding is not as difficult as some might think.  The only part of this recipe that requires careful attention is the “tempering” of the eggs so as not to end up with scrambled eggs in your pudding, but even that is easy to do if you follow the directions.

This recipe serves about 12 people.  It can easily be halved for a smaller pudding.

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups milk (I use 2% but you can use a higher fat content)

6 egg yolks, slightly beaten (save the 6 egg whites for the meringue)

4 Tablespoons butter or margarine

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 or 5 bananas (not too ripe)

1 box vanilla wafers

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt; gradually stir in milk with a whisk, stirring out any lumps.  Cook and stir over medium high heat until bubbly.  This will take about 6-10 minutes.  As it gets hotter, keep it well stirred so as not to scorch the milk.  Once it’s bubbly, cook for an additional two minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Slowly stir a thin stream of the hot mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly with a whisk.  I try to stir at least two cups of the hot mixture into the eggs, but this doesn’t have to be a precise measurement.

Then pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan while stirring constantly, then return all to the heat.

Bring it back up to the bubbly point and cook while stirring constantly with a whisk for two minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in butter til it melts, then the vanilla.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding in the saucepan and allow to cool to room temperature.

To speed this up, you can transfer the hot pudding to a container that allows heat to dissipate more quickly, such as a thin metal bowl instead of the heavy saucepan you cooked it in.  This will insure that the bananas don’t cook when you assemble the pudding.  It can be warm, just not hot when assembled.  When pudding has cooled enough and you’re ready to assemble, line your pudding dish with a layer of vanilla wafers.  Spread half the pudding on top of the wafers and slice a layer of bananas over the pudding.  Ad rest of pudding on top of that, and slice another layer of bananas on this layer.  Push vanilla wafers down the side of the dish and layer them on top of the bananas.  Now you’re ready for the meringue (recipe follows)  Top with meringue, curling it up with a spoon, and brown in a 350 degree oven just until the meringue is lightly browned.  Serve immediately, or let it cool a little at room temperature, but my family loves it warm.  This recipe really does not refrigerate well, it still tastes good but is not as pretty kept overnight in the refrigerator.

Meringue for Banana Pudding

6 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

12 Tablespoons of sugar

Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until they become frothy and begin to turn white.  Add the sugar, one Tablespoon at a time and continue to beat until all sugar is added and meringue has a glossy white appearance and will hold a stiff peak when beater is lifted.  Spread on top of banana pudding, carefully sealing all the way to the edge so that when it is cooked, it will not shrink and pull away from the sides of the dish.  Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes or until it is lightly browned.