Banana Puddin'

Updated November 26th.  I omitted a few necessary steps.  Updates are in red.  Sorry folks.

One of my favorite deserts is homemade Banana Puddin'.  My mom makes the best.  The custard is rich and creamy.  Mmmm Mmmm good.  My family takes an annual vacation to Wisconsin Dells, where we just chil-lax with the kiddies.  We do everything from water parks, nature walks, sight seeing, and cook.  Every meal except pizza night.  This (Aug) year we asked my mom to make her famous recipe: Banana Puddin'.  Neither of us knew how.  For shame, for shame.


Thanksgiving is here, but it's not too late to add Banana Puddin' to your menu.  Here goes:

You need about this much of the following ingredients to serve 20 people:

1 cup sugar
Vanilla extract to your taste (about 1 tsp)
6 eggs, separated
2 cups milk

1/4 cup flour

NILLA Wafers
5 bananas, sliced

Be warned these measurements are a guesstimate. My mom does not use measuring equipment. She makes statements like, "About this much." "Add sugar and vanilla to your taste." So you know there is a lot of tasting as you go.

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.


Cookies and Bananas in the dish:

Arrange sliced banana and nilla wafers in baking dish like shown above. My mom sprinkles a little sugar over the banana slices as she layers.

Next, You need six eggs. Separate the egg whites and yokes into two containers.

In a small pot, combine about whole milk, vanilla extract, egg yokes (remember the above is a estimate. It's to your taste of sweetness and richness.)  Combine flour and about 3 tablespoons of sugar in a separate bowl.  Then add the mixture to the milk. This will become the rich custard after cooking. Over a low flame, stir the mixture until it thicken. You may need to add more sugar during the thickening process.  Taste mixture to determine your desired sweetness. This process takes about 10 to 12 or until thickened. 

Now for the egg white. This will become the meringue for the banana pudding. You have to beat it until it is white and fluffy. Tip: Add a dash of salt to speed up the process.  This is done by hand, but if you use a mixer set it to high speed. 

Pour pudding/custard over the cookies and banana slices.

Now add the meringue to the top. Then place in a preheated oven of 375 degrees. Bake until meringue is slightly browned.

Bake until meringue is slightly browned. (15 to 20 mins.) Now that is one delicious Banana Pudding. Enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Cennetta