Seems to me, banana pudding lovers have a favorite recipe, usually an ancestral one, and mighty strong opinions on the subject. I simply wanted to use up some brownish bananas that my family was ignoring. I wanted something fast and delicious using what I had on hand, so I mashed up a few recipes.
But the recipe turned out so well, I'm making it again on purpose and sharing it with you! Maybe this is the start of a banana pudding loyalty in my family?
Thrift at Home Banana Pudding
Make pudding.
In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat until steamy hot:
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Meanwhile, beat well in a glass measuring cup:
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Pour a little hot milk into egg mixture, whisking. This tempers the eggs.
Now turn heat to low. While whisking milk mixture, pour egg mixture into the saucepan slowly. Whisk continuously. When the egg mixture is totally whisked in, turn the heat up to med-low and whisk continuously until it comes to a slow boil. Allow to boil 3-5 minutes, still whisking. Should be quite thick, basically pudding, after the boil.
Take pan off heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla. Set aside for about half an hour which allows it to cool a bit.
Assemble. Lay 3-4 graham crackers in bottom of lightly greased 8x8 dish or equivalent. Slice a banana over the crackers. Add another layer of crackers. Pour the still-warm pudding gently over the top layer. Cover. Refrigerate for several hours - best eaten within 24 hours because the bananas will inevitably turn brown.
Notes: Use 2 cups half-and-half in place of milk and cream. I'm sure you could double this recipe.
You could add some nutmeg somewhere. . . or use chocolate graham crackers or Nilla Wafers. . . or put whipped cream on top. . . or what else? Are you a banana pudding fan? How do you like yours?
6 comments:
A couple of things: One, I just realized that I have never made a pudding without a package mix! Hmm... And, I thought the banana would be mixed into the cooked pudding, but obviously I know nothing about this process! It sounds delicious.
The other thing: I love that Pyrex baking dish! I have that set in clear glass and it is so useful. :-)
e, I'm still learning about the world of puddings without mixes! This one is so delicious and really not hard.
I'm sure there are banana puddings where the bananas are mixed in. . . I'm curious to hear how others do it. . .
I've never eaten banana pudding but I have somehow absorbed the enthusiasm of a few southerners; I was even given a prized recipe to try, and bought the ingredients.... then, nothing. All the ingredients are gone, so I could start over, right? I like the look of your recipe that seems to be not overly sweet. So I will save it. Thank you for sharing!!
Huh. Well, I'll be. I've never even heard of banana pudding! Looks very yummy indeed!
I'm pretty sure my banana pudding recipe is on my blog, but I really need to overall my recipes page.
At any rate, my father-in-law says my recipe, which is from an old Southern woman, is just like his mother's. It has a bottom layer of vanilla wafers, then bananas, then the pudding and then a meringue layer. Graham crackers sound interesting - I wonder if I could experiment with that without a full on mutiny here? I mean, when something is declared as good as Mawmaw's, you don't want to mess with it.
Banana pudding...one of our family favorites. Growing up my mom would stir the sliced bananas into the pudding and then pour it into a pretty glass bowl. The Graham crackers were then crushed and spread on top. Sometimes, for an extra special touch, whipped cream was spread over the top of the cracker crumbs.
I like your recipe. I'll have to try It.
~Linda
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