Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Southern Banana Pudding

Ingredients

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup granulated sugar (For the custard)
• 0.5 cup heavy cream
• 0.333 cup all-purpose flour (Source states one-third cup)
• 0.25 tsp kosher salt
• 3.5 cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla flavoring (The creator says to measure with your heart)
• 11 oz vanilla wafers (One box; used for layering)
• 4 ripe bananas (Good ripe bananas)
• 5 egg whites (Room temperature)
• 0.5 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 cup granulated sugar (For the meringue)
• 2 tsp vanilla flavoring (For the meringue)

Steps

1. 1

   Place the five egg yolks in a bowl and cream them together with the one cup of granulated sugar.

2. 2

   Add the heavy cream, flour, kosher salt, and whole milk to the yolk-and-sugar mixture, combining them into the custard mixture.

3. 3

   Pour the custard mixture into a three-quart saucepan and place it over medium heat.

4. 4

   Cook the custard for about six to seven minutes, stirring constantly and not stepping away, until it begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon.

5. 5

   Once the custard starts to thicken, add the butter and vanilla flavoring. Stir until incorporated and fragrant.

6. 6

   Remove the saucepan from the heat and set the custard aside to cool.

7. 7

   In a three-quart CorningWare dish, build the first layer with vanilla wafers across the bottom.

8. 8

   Add a layer of sliced ripe bananas over the wafers.

9. 9

   Add a layer of custard over the bananas, then continue building layers of wafers, bananas, and custard. Continue until the dish is about two-thirds to three-fourths full.

10. 10

    To make the meringue, place the five room-temperature egg whites in a bowl and beat them until they just begin to get frothy.

11. 11

    Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form.

12. 12

    Once soft peaks form, add the one cup of granulated sugar and the two teaspoons of vanilla flavoring. Beat to finish the meringue.

13. 13

    Spread the meringue over the top of the layered banana pudding.

14. 14

    Place the pudding under the broiler for about one minute, watching it carefully, until the meringue is finished and lightly browned.

Notes

The source does not specify a broiler temperature, an exact cooling time, or whether the finished pudding should be served warm or chilled. It describes the recipe as being made in a three-quart CorningWare dish. The creator mentions that banana pudding may also be served cold with whipped cream, but the demonstrated version uses meringue.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• American
• Southern
• banana pudding
• baked
• meringue
• comfort food
• holiday