Homemade Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

Bringing old fashioned desserts into a new light with this made from scratch Homemade Banana Pudding. The creamiest vanilla bean pastry cream lightened up with fresh whipped cream and layered with sliced bananas and the nostalgic Nilla Wafers.

Comfort layered in a bowl, Old Fashioned Banana Pudding is a perfect spring dessert that has created so many memories in the kitchen.  It might not have been the fanciest, but there is something so comforting about this dessert that I am excited to share with my family.  Old Fashioned Banana Pudding is a classic and the only way to make this better is to make the vanilla pudding 100% from scratch.  

Homemade Vanilla Pudding is so creamy and smooth and has the purest vanilla bean flavor.  Although the spotlight of this dessert is bananas, this vanilla pudding actually does not have any bananas in it.  It is made with only five ingredients, homemade pudding can be layered in cakes or can be the perfect filling to a buttery tart shell.  Once the pudding is made it is lightened with fresh whipped cream, layered with freshly sliced bananas, nilla wafers and finished off with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.   

Ingredients

Nilla Wafers-An old fashion buttery cookie that is store bought and makes this Banana Pudding a classic. I would not recommend replacing this cookie with something else or it will change the flavor of the pudding.

Whole Milk-For homemade vanilla pudding, whole milk is a key ingredient. Using 2% or 1% milk could cause the pudding to be a more liquid texture and not a thick creamy texture.

Egg Yolks-Make sure to only use the yolks! Traditional pudding recipes use the egg yolk and not the whole egg to cream a thick and creamy texture.

Vanilla Bean-Whole vanilla beans add so much flavor to this pudding. The small black speckles of vanilla are so important to create a pure flavor that vanilla extract will not give you.

Corn Starch-Don't skip the corn starch, it is the thickening agent in the pudding.

Step-by-Step Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, granulated sugar and cornstarch (Step 1)

Whisk until thick and smooth; set aside (Step 2)

In a medium saucepan combine the milk, vanilla bean split in half and the seeds scraped out and the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar and bring to a simmer (Step 3)

Once the milk is brought to a simmer, remove the sauce pan from the heat, remove the vanilla bean pods and slowly pour about half of the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to *temper the eggs (Step 4)

*temper means to slowly warm the eggs by adding a small amount of warm milk to the egg mixture to bring them to the same temperature)

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remainder of the milk, continue whisking the egg and milk mixture to avoid curdling the eggs. On low to medium heat whisk the custard vigorously until it starts to thicken and begins to bubble, lower the heat and cook for another 2-3 minutes (Step 5)

Remove the saucepan from the heat, pour into a glass bowl and immediately press plastic wrap to cover the surface of the custard to avoid a skin from forming; Allow the custard to cool completely in the refrigerator for one hour. (Step 6)

Once the custard is chilled, whip one cup of  heavy cream to stiff peaks (Step 7)

Fold into the pastry cream to make a smooth and creamy filling (Step 8)

Assemble

Using 4 individual trifle dishes or one large trifle dish, start layering the vanilla pudding in the bottom of each glass, followed by mini nilla wafers and then sliced bananas;  Repeat each step one more time finishing with fresh whipped cream to garnish 

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve (recommended to serve within a few hours of assembling) 

Expert Tips and FAQ's

• Make sure that the bananas are yellow with a few brown spots. You don't want them green and you don't want "banana bread bananas" with brown all over!
• Give yourself time to make the vanilla pudding. This can be made the night before so that you have time to let it chill and thicken.
• Use vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract in the vanilla pudding. This will make a big difference in the flavor.

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