Banana Pudding, Because It's Monday
Banana pudding parfait. Photo credit: Sarah Shatz, Food52
It’s almost hard to say its name correctly, it’s such a nostalgia-inducing food: “Nana pudding.” “Bananer pudding.” “Nanner pudding.”
When properly made with über-ripe bananas, Nilla wafers and fresh whipped cream, and stacked, parfait-style, banana pudding (that American classic) is a triumph of textural and flavor combos. This recipe is particularly smart—don’t be put off by its length!—thanks to bananas done two ways, both mashed into the pudding and layered into the parfait.
Sweet, creamy, dreamy and ideal for taking the edge off a Monday, it’s enough to leave you in a puddle on the floor, no matter your age.
Banana Pudding
From Food52
Makes 8 servings
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch kosher salt
2 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 vanilla pod
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
50 Nilla wafers (please, no substitutes here!)
6 large, ripe bananas
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
To make the pudding: prepare an ice bath and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch, 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until smooth and pale; gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
Put the milk in a medium saucepan. Put the remaining sugar in a small bowl. Split the vanilla pod down the middle, scrape out the seeds and rub the seeds into the sugar with your fingertips (Shuna Lydon taught us that this helps distribute the seeds). Add the sugar and the vanilla pod to the milk and bring just to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs, whisking constantly. Return to the saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, whisking continuously, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Set the saucepan in the ice bath, whisking occasionally, until cold.
Whip the cream to soft peaks and whisk 1/2 cup of the whipped cream into the chilled pudding. Gently fold in another 1/2 cup of the cream. Roughly chop 2 of the bananas (this should give you about 1 1/2 cups chopped banana) and mash them lightly with the back of a fork. Fold the bananas into the pudding. Gently fold in a little less than half of the remaining whipped cream. Cover and chill both the pudding and the whipped cream.
Crumble the Nilla wafers by putting them in a zipper bag and whacking at them gently with a rolling pin or a mallet (you can use a food processor, but you’ll get more even chunks this way). Set aside some of the finer crumbs in the bottom of the bag for garnish and stir the nutmeg into the larger chunks.
Slice the remaining bananas thinly. To each of 8 pretty glasses, add a layer of Nilla wafer crumbles, then a couple of spoonfuls of pudding, then a layer of sliced bananas (use a 1/4 of a banana for each layer), and then a few dollops of whipped cream. Repeat, and top each glass with a sprinkling of fine Nilla crumbs and a dash of grated nutmeg. Cover the glasses and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
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