Banana Pudding (Cold)

Hey y’all, Welcome to the society!

I don't know about you but sometimes I have a huge craving for something light, sweet, multi textured, and fruity. Yeah, I know that’s a lot to create in one dish but it's been done before. Banana pudding includes all of those desires, the light sweet pudding, fruity bananas (sometimes I add different fruit too for a refreshing taste) and the cookies all come together and create layers of deliciousness within each texture. Just thinking about makes my mouth water.

Now before we get into the recipe I need to tell you a few things in order for this recipe to work the first time around. Simply because I can’t stand a recipe that takes a few tries to get the advertised results. First thing I need for you to understand is that not one person cooks the same as another other. Therefore I want to stress that ingredients and methods in the recipe are left for you to alter to your preference and desired taste. Although I recommend at least trying the exact recipe the first time to get an understanding of each method, measurement, ingredient and its effect on the taste. 

With that being said let's get into the list of ingredients and their purpose. 

Milk is the base of the pudding; it basically shows you how much pudding you will have. 

Sugar is the ingredient that controls how sweet your pudding is; you can alter this measurement depending on the preferred sweetness of your pudding. 

Cornstarch is a thickening agent; it makes the milk thicker but not creamy, that's where the eggs come in at. 

Eggs are used as a thickening agent as well but their main job is to turn the milky mixture into a custard like base. It's important to add your eggs at the right time because if you add them when the mixture is almost at a boil the eggs will curdle and cook in a scrambled form within your pudding leaving it lumpy. For a thinner consistency like in the video use two eggs, for a little thicker use 3 three and for the thickest recommended consistency use four eggs max. 

Pure vanilla extract is one of the major flavor agents; this is why pure vanilla extract is important! If you use anything besides pure extract like imitation extract your pudding will have a dull, bitter flavor, so do yourself a favor and just get pure vanilla extract. 

Butter or ghee are flavor enhancers but they also give a silky texture to the smooth pudding. I use both butter and ghee at the same time. You can also adjust the measurement of your butter as well just use a minimum of two tablespoons. It’s just something about the ghee that I can't shake; its potent buttery taste gives the pudding a little "umph". You just have to try it in order to experience what I'm saying, but if you can't get ghee (it is a little pricey; but a lot goes a long way) just use regular butter it works exactly the same. 

Very ripe bananas are the star of the show, it wouldn't be banana pudding without them. I use very ripe bananas because you'll need less bananas to get that potent banana taste and plus they are sweeter due to their ripeness so you don't have to use a lot of sugar in your pudding either. I personally like bananas but I don't like eating a lot of them; that's why I only use two very ripe bananas because they give off flavor faster and the aroma takes over the pan. Be careful with the amount of overly ripe bananas you use because they will dominate the dish that's why I suggest starting out with two.

Last but not least, the vanilla wafers; any brand will work don't let anyone fool you into thinking they all taste different! These are truly an unappreciated underdog; they hold everything together, literally, while balancing out the flavors within the pudding. You can use any type of cookies you prefer like chessman/butter cookie but the O.G’s know the power behind vanilla wafers. 

 

Banana Pudding (Cold)

“An all time favorite dessert at any age” 

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Southern

Keyword: Banana, Vanilla, Pudding, dessert

Prep Time: 10 minutes or less

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes or less

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

1. 3 cups whole milk (any milk will work but whole milk is the best option)
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 2 tablespoons cornstarch
4. 2-4 eggs (for desired thickness)
5. 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (no substitution)
6. 2-4 tablespoon Butter (Depending on how buttery you like to taste)
7. 2-5 very ripe bananas sliced to desired thickness no larger than half inch. (almost mushy) 
8. 1 box vanilla wafers (generic brands work too!)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan/pot over low medium heat, pour milk and sugar in together, whisk until completely dissolved, about 4 minutes. Whisk cornstarch into mixture half by half to ensure everything is dissolved, and no lumping forms, about 4 minutes. (If you are new to cornstarch it’s recommended to use a bowl, whisk all three ingredients together until it’s completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Then pour into a medium saucepan/pot over low medium heat.)
2. In a separate bowl crack eggs, whisk to break yolk, slowly one at a time add each egg. Whisk thoroughly before adding the next egg. Continuously whisk so the eggs don't scramble, as this will make the pudding lumpy. 
3. Bring to a low boil, and continue to whisk, and cook until the pudding thickens up. 6 to 10 minutes. Once pudding has reached desired thickness remove pan from heat.
4. Whisk in vanilla extract and butter, make sure it’s fully mixed thoroughly. Set pudding aside to cool for about 20 to 30 minutes.
5. In a glass dish first layer the bottom with vanilla wafers, second a layer of pudding, third a layer or bananas/fruit, fourth another layer of vanilla wafers. Continue this order until you are done.
6. Cover with plastic cling wrap and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but for the best results let it sit overnight in the fridge.

Download the recipe down below: Click the image and print!

Video