Seriously Good Banana Pudding.......

Hungry Yet????

Well you should be needing a snack about now if you are checking out my little blog and seeing this picture.  

My husband has a fondness for banana pudding.  You know...the good stuff made with a recipe and with a layer of meringue sitting on top.  If you are thinking that it seems too time consuming for you to do, wait, here is my little secret.............I now give the recipe to my daughter and tell her to get busy!!!   And yes, her reward includes washing the dishes too.  Seriously...isn't it my job as the parent to teach her some life skills?    He wants pudding.  She wants to bake......and I don't want to do the dishes.  It is a win-win for all at our house.

I didn't create this recipe.  I found it in a Southern Living Magazine several years ago.  I did add one tiny tweak to the recipe.  Please make this!  Please make this when you have family in town and want to impress them with your culinary skills.  

Banana Pudding

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, for you non-cinnamon people)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 1/2 cups milk

4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature

2 T. Vanilla

1 box of vanilla wafers

3 large ripe bananas

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the first 3 ingredients.  Stir together the milks and egg yolks.  Whisk into the dry stuff.  Cook over medium heat until it is smooth and thickened.  Please whisk constantly!  (I have one of those silicone gravy whisks from pampered chef.  It really does a good job with this task...again, I make the girl child do this.)  Remove from heat when thickened and add the vanilla.

Arrange wafers in the bottom of a glass baking dish.  Slice about 3 bananas on top.  I like them kinda thin.  Pour the pudding over this.  

Arrange more wafers along the sides of the dish.  You can add another layer of wafers on top of the pudding if you wish.  

Beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add 1/3 cup of sugar, slowly.  Beat until stiff and fold in the rest of the vanilla.  Gently spread it on top and try to spread it around until it touches the sides of the wafers.

(You could sprinkle a little crystal turbino sugar on top here and get some bling!)

Bake @ 325 for about 25 minutes or until golden.

*Sometimes I add an extra egg white.  It all depends on the size of the eggs I have.

Enjoy!