Mama's Homemade Nanner Puddin'
Homemade Pudding the Way Mama Makes It
Ever once in a while you get a powerful craving for homemade banana pudding. You can't make it like this out of a box. It takes a good hour or so before it's ready and even then you can't eat it till it's cooled down, but in this case, the wait is very much worth it. I always make a double batch because this bunch can put away a lot of pudding. Just double the ingredients.
Double batch ready to cool in the fridge.
Cook Time
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 15 min
Ready in: 1 hour 15 min
Yields: Serves six or eight depending on how greedy.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Flour
- 3 Egg Yolks, Save the egg whites for making meringue.
- 2 Cups Milk
- 1 Box Vanilla Wafers
- 5 Bananas
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Dash Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar, for making meringue
- 3/4 cups Sugar, for making the meringue
- 3 Egg Whites, for making meringue
- Place a layer of vanilla wavers in the bottom of a medium mixing bowl. If you are doubling the recipe (highly recommended), get a large mixing bowl.
- Slice a layer of bananas over the top of the cookies. Repeat until the bowl is nice and full.
- In a large saucepan mix sugar, flour, beaten egg yolks, 2 cups milk and dash of salt. Stir with a wire whisk.
- Heat over low to medium heat stirring constantly. It will take about 15 minutes for the pudding to start to thicken. Don't let it scorch.
- As it starts to bubble, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour mixture over cookies and bananas until the bowl is filled. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while the pudding cools.
- Place all the egg whites in another mixing bowl. Add a teaspoon of cream of tartar and then add 3/4 cup of sugar two tablespoons at a time while beating the egg whites. It could take up to 15 minutes.
- Continue whipping egg mixture till it forms stiff glossy peaks.
- Pour meringue mixture over the top of the banana pudding, spread it out over the bowl and dab at the top of the meringue with a spoon till curly peaks form.
- Set the pudding on a baking sheet and bake in the hot oven till the peaks begin to brown.
- Remove the pudding and allow it to cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator. Do not put hot meringue straight out of the oven in the refrigerator. It will collapse as I discovered the hard way.
- Guard the refrigerator door while the pudding is cooling if you expect to actually get to eat any of it yourself.
