Chef notes
This banana pudding is everything. It's what our Grandma Mary made for us on the celebratory days and on the hardest of days. It's this multi-generational kind of bliss. It's community for us. It's the thing she would make, and the three of us — my mom, grandma and I — would sit together and tell stories. It was something that brought us together.
Whenever Grandma made it, she'd set a timer when it came out of the oven so it could cool for a half hour before we devoured it. The moment the buzzer went off, my mom and I would rush to be the first to grab the pan, then chase each other around trying to be the first to eat it. One time when I was seven, the dogs sniffed my mom out, hiding with the entire pudding under the dining table. I reached in with the longest-handled ladle you've ever seen and stole a bit! Grandma screamed to my mom, "You're stealing dessert from a child!"
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1¾ cups sugar, divided
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 3 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
- 1 box vanilla wafers (approximately 45 wafers)
- 5-6 bananas, sliced
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 325 F.
2.In a large, heavy saucepan, combine flour, 1½ cups sugar and salt.
3.In a large bowl or measuring cup, lightly beat egg yolks and combine with milk.
4.Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until ingredients are thickened and smooth.
5.Remove saucepan from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
6.Cover the bottom of a two-quart oven-safe glass bowl or baking dish with vanilla wafers.
7.Layer sliced bananas on top of wafers.
8.Pour 1/3 of the custard over wafers and bananas.
9.Repeat layering process two more times until all wafers, bananas and custard have been used, ending with a final layer of wafers.
For the meringue:
1.Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer set at high speed.
2.Allow egg whites to foam, add cream of tartar, and then gradually add 1/4 cup sugar one tablespoon at a time.
3.Continue whipping until sugar is well dissolved and stiff peaks have formed.
4.Add remaining vanilla and whip until well-combined.
5.Spread meringue over banana pudding, making sure to spread to the edges of the dish.
6.Bake until the meringue is lightly browned, about 25 minutes.
