Baked banana pudding is a dessert that is quintessentially Southern. It probably first became popular after World War II as research shows that since the early 1950s, newspapers have been associating the delicious dish with the southern states.
If you’ve never tasted it before, you don’t know what you’re missing out on!
Luckily, we’ve found the perfect baked banana pudding recipe and we’re going to share it with you today.
“I’m pretty sure I was a Southerner in a previous life,” jokes Chef John on the Food Wishes YouTube Channel.
“I’m not just basing that on my incredible biscuits or amazing fried chicken, but also based on my baked banana pudding game,” says the chef.
The flavors of banana cream in his recipe will leave your mouth watering, but here’s the real secret ingredient — it turns out, it’s vanilla wafers.
Bake a few wafers in with the pudding and the end result is a dish that’s comforting, sweet, and absolutely delicious.
The custard is made by separating the yolks and the whites from the eggs into two separate bowls.
Sugar, salt, and all-purpose flour are added on top of the yolks. Then it’s followed up with milk, whisked in slowly.
The mixture is cooked on medium heat on the stove until it thickens up.
Once it gets to temperature, it will only take a few minutes for it to reach the consistency of pudding. That’s when you want to take it off of the heat.
Vanilla extract, banana liquor, cold butter are added. Then it must be whisked until the butter disappears.
One of the most crucial parts of the recipe is the bananas.
You’ll want bananas that are very ripe and most importantly, sweet. You don’t want to use green bananas for this recipe.
Just peel the bananas, slice them up, and coat them in lemon juice.
The pudding in its entirety is a layer of custard on the bottom, followed by vanilla wafers, and the bananas on top. This process is repeated once more so that there are six layers in total. It’s all covered with the remaining banana custard.
The meringue topping is whipped up using egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar.
The meringue is then spread on the top of the custard layers and the whole dessert is baked at 400°F for around 10 minutes. As soon as it cools down a little bit, it will be ready to enjoy!
Scroll down to see the full ingredients list and recipe directions.
Custard Ingredients:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups of milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon banana liquor
- 1 tablespoon butter, cold
Pudding ingredients:
- 1 box vanilla wafers
- 3 or 4 very ripe bananas, sliced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Meringue topping ingredients:
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Recipe Directions:
1. Separate the egg whites and yolks.
2. Add the sugar, salt, and flour on top of the yolks. Pour in a 1/4 cup of milk and blend it with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the rest of the milk.
3. Cook it over medium heat until the custard thickens up and forms ribbons when you run your finger through it. It will be hot to the touch when it is ready.
4. Take it off of the heat and add in the vanilla extract, banana liquor, and cold butter. Whisk it until all of the butter disappears.
5. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
6. Slice the bananas and toss them in lemon juice to coat all of the sides.
7. In a baking dish spread a fourth of the custard on the bottom. Layer vanilla wafers on top. Then layer the banana slices. Add a second layer of each again in the same order. Then top the dish with all of the custard that remains.
9. Mix the cream of tartar with the egg whites in a separate bowl to make the meringue. Beat it with a whisk until it foams. Then add sugar and beat it until stiff peaks form.
10. Spread the meringue over the custard layers with a spatula.
11. Bake it all in the oven until the meringue turns a golden brown. It should take around 7 to 10 minutes.
That’s all it takes to make your own delicious baked banana pudding at home! It can be served warm or chilled. The choice is yours. A little bit of test-tasting and you’ll soon find out which style your friends and family prefer!
Check out the full baked banana pudding recipe video below to learn more.
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