Homemade Banana Pudding

This traditional recipe is much easier than you might think.

Homemade banana pudding tastes far better than any of the artificially sweetened pudding you can buy in the stores. Once you've tried the real homemade banana pudding, you'll never be tempted to go back to the instant pudding again.


Give it a try at home and you'll see that this easy dessert is the best alternative to store bought puddings. This particular variation of banana pudding includes a lovely meringue topping, but this is optional. You might decide to simply make the pudding and vary the topping by crumbling some vanilla wafers over the top instead of meringue. The choice is yours.

Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tin evaporated milk (14oz or 400ml)
• 1 cup milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ripe bananas
• Vanilla wafers

Method

1. Separate your eggs so you have the yolks in one bowl and keep the whites in another. Beat the yolks a little and leave aside for a moment. We'll be using the whites to form the meringue in the next step, so keep these aside too.



2. Pour evaporated milk and regular milk into a saucepan and heat them over a low heat. You want to warm these ingredients so they're hot, but don't allow them to boil or you'll spoil your custard.



3. Once they're hot, pour them slowly into your egg yolks and mix them together well. Add the sugar, stirring constantly. When the sugar is mixed in, pour the custard back into the saucepan and heat over a low heat for around 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to stop the custard from sticking to the sides of the pan. Sugar will dissolve and the mixture should start to thicken.



4. Remove the custard from the heat and stir through the vanilla extract. Leave to one side while you prepare the bananas.



5. Slice the bananas into even slices. Line the base of an oven-proof casserole dish with vanilla wafers. Then layer some banana slices on top. Alternate your slices between wafers and banana slices until you've used up the banana. Then pour the custard mixture evenly over the layers.



6. At this point, you could decide to crush up a few of the vanilla wafers and sprinkle them over the top of your pudding as a topping. However, I prefer to make good use of the left-over egg whites to make a lovely, fluffy meringue as a topping.

 

Homemade Meringue Topping

Many people avoid making meringues as they believe they're difficult to make. If you use the wrong utensils, then you will have some difficulty getting your meringues to the right fluffy texture.

However there are some steps you can follow to make sure your homemade meringue turns out beautifully.

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. You should preheat your oven to 220F (105C) before you start.



2. Before you begin, take a careful look at the egg whites you separated earlier while making your pudding. In order to get your egg whites to foam properly, you need to make sure they're really clean. The best way to do this is to strain them through a sieve to get rid of any impurities.



3. You should also avoid using a plastic or wooden bowl for this step. Try to use a glass or ceramic bowl when you're making meringue. The reason for this is that sometimes detergent can remain trapped in the fibers of plastic or wooden bowls and react with your eggs. This will cause them to fall rather than rise.



4. Beat the egg whites with an electric beater until they form a stiff foam. Once your egg whites are stiff, gradually mix in the sugar, mixing constantly. The sugar will cause your egg whites to stiffen further. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla essence and mix in well.



5. Spoon your meringue mixture over the banana pudding and put it into the oven for a few minutes. You only want the meringue to brown a little, so watch it carefully. Remove it from the oven as soon as you notice the meringue beginning to change color.

We hope you enjoyed our homemade banana pudding. Please feel free to share your deserts and homemade cake recipes here for others to enjoy.