The custard in this recipe is pretty close to what I make..I use 2 egg yolks, not any whole eggs though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Banana Pudding

Alexa, that's too funny! My mother is going to appreciate that homemade cookies part.

Here's her "non-cooked" version that some don't consider homemade since it isn't cooked.

Regular size batch:

small box vanilla pudding - fix per instructions
medium size cool whip - fold in
can of Eagle brand milk - fold in
tiny amount of almond extract - fold in
Vanilla waifers (Nabisco, not Keeblers)
5 - 6 bananas
Layer in large bowl, starting with wafers.

If you want extra large amount, use large box of pudding, large container of coolwhip and 2 cans of Eagle brand.

I found that I don't like the flavor of the Keebler vanilla waifers at all compared to the original Nabisco waifers - BUT, since you're making homemade...

Good luck - it sounds sooo good right now.

Beth

Mother of the Year Award goes to.................. ALEXA!!

My son was just like that!

When my DD was a teenager, she came home from school after stopping at my SIL's house and said incredulously "Aunt Dana is making fried chicken for dinner!!".

"Yeah, so?"

"You don't get it mom, she is actually frying the chicken herself! I didn't know you could do that!"

My "nanner" pudding recipe is pretty straightforward, from "Mama" 50 years ago. It's actually a cream filling recipe she used for several things.

Cream Filling

3/4 C sugar
3 T. cornstarch
2 eggs, separated...yolks beaten
2 C. milk
1/4 teas. salt
1 teas. vanilla

Combine sugar and cornstarch in top of double boiler. Add 2 egg yolks, 2 cups milk and salt. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add 1 teas. vanilla.

Alternate vanilla wafers, banana slices and pudding. ending with pudding.

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gradually add 1/8 C. sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of hot filling, sealing to the edges. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 min. or until delicately browned.

I ALWAYS use meringue on top and we like it still a little warm while the wafers are still a little crisp.

NEVER, EVER, use cool whip or a pudding mix, instant or not.

When fresh strawberries were in season, sometimes she would make a strawberry cream pie,.... that was before
strawberries were available year round. She probably used the basic filling recipe also for coconut pie, which my family is not really fond of.

jude

Thanks for all the help! He will be home from school soon so I will let HIM read the recipes and decide which one we are making.

Thanks again!

Alexa

I have to admit I use the one on the side of the Nilla wafer box (the old style one with the cooked custard). Not even Grandma made her own cookies for it. LOL! I always double up on the vanilla flavoring. Funny, I really don't like whipped cream, but I love the meringue on banana pudding. Jude's right, when it's still warm, it's wonderful.

Must be something in the air. I did a grocery run today and went in with full intentions of getting the makings for a banana pudding. Unfrotuatnely, the bananas looked like they had been dragged to market behind the truck and were crazy pricy for the condition of them.

Eastern Joizey gal here....
Banana pudding was made with lady fingers, bananas and home made cornstarch pudding.
Here's my mother's recipe:
"Use 1 T of cornstarch and one egg yolk and one quarter scant cup of sugar to each cup of milk & a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla added last.
I use 2 of each as it makes just enough.
Mix cornstarch with a little milk to a paste. Put everything (but vanilla)in a double boiler and mix with egg beater. Cook until thick & a little longer stirring constantly, add vanilla".
And you wonder why I write recipes the way I do?? I learned it in utero!! LOL!
It makes a lovely, not overly sweet pudding...not stiff enough to cut with a knife....but a soft pudding, that soaks well into the lady fingers.
Linda C

So...is this cornstarch-based custard for banana pudding and tarts what Byrd's custard powder is usually used for up north? (It's a serious question -- I only know to use it for the Nanaimo bars.)

Is meringue on top a Northern thing? I've always reserved meringue for the top of lemon or keylime pies. I guess we didn't use meringue since the pudding had the whipped cream inside it.

I make my nanner pudding with homemade vanilla pudding. (cornstarch and egg yolks)
Nilla Wafers
Bananas
whipped cream on top sometimes..

My husband LOVES it..one of his favorite treats.

Meringue a northern thing? Well, I am from North Carolina. :)

No, I don't think it's a northern thing at all. I don't remember seeing many desserts that used whipped cream (or nondairy topping) until the early 70s when Byrd's Eye starting heavily marketing their new Cool Whip product. Meringue was on baked custards pies, puddings, etc.

How Cool Whip got to be so popular is beyond me. Whipped high fructuse corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. yumyum. :P

I prefer the old fashioned homemade banana pudding, but my family quite likes the one Beth uses. Does that say something about my cookin'?
Of course, if you want to make your own vanilla wafers, here is a recipe that tastes quite like them. Frankly, I wouldn't bother but I had an emergency once :) I don't remember that it actually made 50 cookies though.
Vanilla Wafers
½ cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cup cake flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
Cream sugars, shortening, egg, vanilla, salt. Add flour & baking powder. Add 1 Tablespoon water, continue mixing til it forms a ball. Roll into ¾" balls, flatten on greased baking sheet. Bake 18 min at 325, makes 50 cookies.

Meringue a northern thing...I don't think so! I'm from the southeast and growing up ALL ceam pies, chocolate, coconut, lemon etc., as well as banana pudding had meringue. Custard pies, like egg custard, obviously no topping and fruit pies had a top crust...no crumb toppings.

jude

I almost didn't open this thread because I didn't know what "Nanner Pudding" was, so I figured I would have no input! LOL Ah well....it's been a long week!

Here is the recipe I use, I believe it was originally posted by Woodie.

NOT YO' MAMA'S BANANA PUDDING
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies (I used Sandies and crumbled them)
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

As for meringue...I am about as far north as you can get and the only thing I have ever had with meringue on it was Lemon Meringue Pie. Have never had/seen it on any other pie or any kind of pudding.

So I would say it's not a northern thing. Which is a good thing because I don't particularly care for it! LOL

Linda

Banana Pudding in my family is Nilla Wafers, the pudding/custard recipe on the Nilla Wafers box, ripe bananas, and meringue on top. Why would we mess with a good thing? I once tried the store brand of vanilla wafers - never made THAT mistake again.

And I will not eat most banana puddings in restaurants unless I can see/smell it before ordering. Mostly I only trust Banana Pudding made by my mom or my sisters. I might trust this dessert made by a CF member....maybe.

Agreed on the store brand vanilla wafers--yukkkkk! Ruined a perfectly fine banana pudding!

I'm thinking that maybe the cooked custard style banana puddings had the meringue on top and the one that we make, which is the only kind I've ever had, has no topping. And, like I said, all of our cream pies had the meringue.

Funny thing is, I very seldom ever see banana pudding anywhere, not even in the restaurants around here.

Beanthere, you're too funny! I love coolwhip. I could eat it straight. But it's not to be confused with whipped cream. Just the manufacturers short cut version. That's how it got popular. Another time saver - when will we ever learn the truth about those time savers.

Beth

In many parts of the south Banana Pudding is on just about every diner's and restaurant's menu. Unfortunately you might not know what you are getting until it's set before you:
Nilla Wafers vs. unknown brand, cooked custard vs. instant pudding, just right ripe bananas vs. way too ripe bananas, homemade meringue vs. no topping or worse, pseudo whipped topping. And, you don't know how long that 'nana puddin' has been sitting there! Or, how long it has been out of the fridge! ~~shudder~~~

Teresa, I thought of you at lunch today. After church we went to Cumberland State Park and had their buffet lunch. They had banana pudding and I tasted just a bite. It was awful! In fact Bob and I decided the salad bar rated an 8 on the scale of 1 to 10 and the rest of the buffet a 4...averaging a 6, I guess. I Have the ingredients on hand for my own but given the big lunch we had, I'll probably wait until tomorrow

jude

We decided to go with Terri_Pacnw linked recipe since I didn;t have condensed milk in the house after all. NOt sure where that last can went, but it sure wasn;t around. The custard/pudding is done and cooloing and The Little Gourmand tasted it and proclaimed it the best vanilla pudding ever.

Then he asked if next time we could make chocolate pudding, use it in Nanner Pudding instead of the vanilla and add grated chocolate to the top! I suspect there is going to be a lot of Nanner Pudding and variations in my future! LOL!

Thanks again everyone and he also asked that we try every recipe posted here so he could pick his favorite!

Alexa

Homemade pudding is heaven.

You should make that Little Gourmand Chocolate Pudding Cake if he's never had it! As it bakes the cake and pudding separate into utter chocolaty deliciousness of cake and warm pudding - almost a Molten Lava Cake, but not; a homey, cozy, simple dessert.

Here is a link that might be useful: link to Chocolate Pudding Cake

I use the Paula Deen recipe with a couple of changes. I use Vanilla wafers instead of the Chessmen cookies and I add blueberries to the bananas: Blueberry Banana Puddin'.

Oh, Teresa! I love chocolate pudding cake! I'd take that over any fancy smancy dessert any time, any place. IMO, many of these "old-fashioned" desserts like 'nanner pudding, chocolate pudding cake, rice pudding, warm gingerbread with homemade lemon sauce, etc. are still the best.

/tricia

Teresa, I love that pudding cake too, Grandma called it hot fudge pudding cake.

I didn't open this either, because I detest bananas and so I'll never make or eat "Nanner Pudding". Or Banana Pudding either!

However, I do think I know why the meringue goes on top instead of whipped cream. Things didn't used to be "wasted" or thrown away, and refrigeration was not as abundant or reliable as it is now. So, when something took a lot of egg yolks, like lemon pie or custard/pudding desserts, the whites were naturally used for meringue so they were not wasted.

It's not a northern OR a southern thing, it's a old farmer thing, from times when everyone was much more frugal than we are today.

Annie

Annie, did your mother or grandmother make whipped cream when you were growing up? Of course you are a generation younger than me, but after my father died and we moved we did not have cows, but we had chickens. I never had whipped cream until I was grown. It probably sounds like we were deprived but I never, ever went hungry.

jude

Alexa, I've really enjoyed reading this thread. The Little Gourmand cracks me up. Tell him I've made it much more often with chocolate pudding and that's my favorite. When I make the vanilla I like to use my Puerto Rican vanilla that has a hint of coconut in it and add some toasted or not coconut to the pudding. Coconut and banana...yumm..

Thanks for posting that recipe Therese, I haven't had that in ages. It was one of my Pop's favorites. It's going on the rotation soon.

jude, I'll be 55 in May, so I might be a generation younger, and maybe not, LOL.

We very seldom had whipped cream, most of the cream went into butter, except the little pitcher full that Dad kept aside to go in his coffee. Grandma used evaporated milk in her coffee, always. Go figure, we're milking cows and she's buying canned milk for coffee!

Butter kept longer and was more an everyday "necessity" than whipped cream, so the cream was nearly always churned into butter.

We did pour a little unwhipped raw cream onto berries or shortcake once in a while, but it was almost never whipped.

Annie

Why Annie, you're just a baby! I'll be 79 on June 1st. (I don't like seeing that in black and white.) LOL Living in the country had it's plusses, and minuses as well, but it was good having homegrown food. Bob set out his tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers and planted beans the latter part of last week, but it'll be a good while before they're ready to enjoy. Sure is nice to see spring, erratic as it has been!

jude

When I asked Beau (5 YO) what we should have for Family Dinner night this week, he stated his preference then ended with "and a super, super, delicious dessert!". I pressed him for more details, he said "a pie in a shape". Not knowing what that would entail, I made "Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding" in the heart shaped pan Sheshebop gave me.

Talk about good banana pudding!! It's stellar.

Alexa, 5 more lbs. - it's all your fault - or should I say it's all the Little Gourmand's fault! After mentioning this thread to Mom, she went and made banana pudding and sent some home with me!

I don't dare mention the chocolate in front of Dad - he's happy right now, but if he knew that it could come in chocolate.....

Beth

LOL! Glad he inspired so much happiness! Happy eating all!

A