Homemade Banana Pudding

As I have said many times before, I have a major sweet tooth. I do not discriminate against any desserts but, growing up in the south, banana pudding happens to be one of my favorites. Homemade banana pudding is the dessert of the south. There are two rules to making the perfect southern homemade banana pudding. The first rule is never never never use instant pudding. Homemade vanilla pudding is not that difficult to make and it makes a huge difference in the final product. It hurts my heart to see banana pudding made with instant boxed pudding and then called "homemade". No no no. Follow this recipe and you can go to bed knowing your homemade banana pudding truly is homemade and perfect.

Homemade Banana Pudding

1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 cup cornstarch
5 tablespoons butter
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups whole milk
Box of vanilla wafers
4 banana, thinly sliced (or more depending on how much you like bananas)

The second trick to making the best homemade banana pudding is the vanilla wafers you buy. You have to buy the name brand. I am all for buying off brand for most things, but some off brand things are just not as good (coke, ritz crackers, cheerios) and this is one of them. Pay the extra dollar for the good ones.

Method:
In the top of a double boiler, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the milk and whisk until it is smooth. Cook over medium heat until milk is hot.

Add a cup of the hot milk mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking to avoid scrambling. Then add the egg/milk mixture back into the milk in the double boiler, whisking as you pour. Stir consistently until the pudding begins to thicken. Once the mixture has boiled and is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla and stir until melted. The stick the pot in an ice bath and continue whisking until the pudding has thickened and cooled some.


In the bottom of a 2 quart serving bowl, put a thick layer of vanilla wafers. Then follow with a layer of thinly sliced bananas.

After that, cover the layer of cookies and bananas with a good amount of pudding. Then do another layer of cookies and bananas, and top it off with the remaining pudding. If you have any more cookies left, put them on top. If not, its okay. You're going to end of topping it with meringue or whipped cream anyway. Cover with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The longer you let it chill and set, the better. If you have the time, over night is best because it will definitely be set and the cookies will be soft.

Top with whipped cream at serving time! Yummm!