← Back to Archives

OMGWTF Banana Pudding

recipe

This is a layered pudding where there are layers of cookie, then banana then pudding, topped with a meringue. Meringue isn't essential for this dish and usually banana pudding doesn't have it; however, once you have it with meringue, you'll never, ever feel satisfied without it.

If you're not from the South, you might not understand the culture surrounding banana (or "nana") pudding. It evokes many memories of bright banana flavor, sweet, rich pudding and pudding-saturated Nilla wafers. It's a classic, hands down. I don't know why banana pudding is such a specific delicacy associated with the South as I don't think anywhere in the South actually grows bananas. Anyway, if you've never had banana pudding done right, you owe it to yourself, your future and the future of your children to make this version of it. Of course, its best the third day after you've made it.

OMGWTF Banana Pudding

Ingredients (pudding):

  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1/2 c. AP flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 c. whole milk (yes, whole)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract (real)
  • 1 tbsp. butter (real)
  • 4 egg yolks (fresh)
  • 1 box vanilla (Nilla) wafers
  • 4 very ripe bananas

Ingredients (meringue):

  • 4 egg whites (fresh, room temperature)
  • 5 tbsp. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (real)

Directions:

  1. Prepare serving dish. First, preheat oven to 375°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch square pan with 25 vanilla wafers. Set aside 25 more good wafers for the second layer and 12 wafers for edges. Get the bananas out and ready by the dish.

  2. Make pudding. Combine sugar, flour and salt in a bowl with a wire whisk and set aside. Combine milk and vanilla and set aside. Separate egg yolks from whites by carefully cracking each egg in half, and alternatively pouring yolk from one half to the other over a bowl; the white should fall into the bowl. Place the yolks in a room temp. heavy saucepan. Add the milk mixture in stages, whisking with a wire whisk. Place over medium heat and add flour mixture in stages, whisking to mix well. Bring slowly to a boil while whisking. When it thickens a bit, add butter. Reduce heat but keep at a light boil until it just reaches a pudding consistency (which is a bit thick, you've had pudding before, right?). Remove from heat.

  3. Build pudding: This needs to happen fast so that the pudding is workable. Peel two bananas and slice then layer over wafers. You'll want to have a good layer of banana, so slice thinly if you have small bananas. Immediately pour half of pudding over wafers and bananas. Add another wafer and banana layer and cover with remaining pudding. Smooth dish top and then add three wafers per edge, pressing down into the dish so they form a little "hedge".

  4. Make and bake meringue. Beat the egg whites in a mixer bowl or with a beater on high speed until soft peaks form (when you take a spoon to it and yank the spoon away, any "peaks" should not stand on their own but slump over, but not disappear). Add the cream of tartar. Add the sugar slowly a tablespoon at a time while beating at high speed. Stop beating and scrape the bowl down. Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form (when any "peaks" stand on their own). Fold the vanilla into the meringue so that you don't kill or overwork the structure of the meringue. Spread the meringue over the top of the pudding to the edges to seal. Texture the top by using a spoon and making a swirl pattern; using a "vibrato" to push the meringue down and pull it back up will add some structure. Bake it at 375°F for 8-15 minutes (check it at 8) or until the top of the meringue browns.

  5. Let cool. Let the pudding cool at room. temp. for an hour or so. Cover and store in fridge. Nana pudding is best two to three days after construction, but is very good after 3-4 hours of chilling in the fridge.