Southern Style Banana Pudding

When my husband refers to this dish, it sounds more like "Aunt Ran-cisses Nanner Puddin'" but don't be confused. He is, of course, referring to his Aunt Frances and her classic Southern recipe for banana pudding. This is one of those dishes that I wasn't familiar with at all until getting married but am happy to say that I can enjoy it too. Just don't think of it as mushy bread products and you'll be fine!














Pudding

• 1 box Nabisco Vanilla Wafers
• 5 large bananas, sliced thinly
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 T. flour
• 3 cups milk

Meringue

• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar

In a large casserole dish or oven-ready bowl, start putting down alternating layers of bananas and wafers, ending with a layer of wafers on the very top.

In a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, flour and milk. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring often to avoid clumps and overcooked eggs. This is the longest part of the process - be patient! Pudding is done when sauce is thick. It will not be as thick as a traditional pudding but should hold together fairly well. Pour hot pudding over the wafers and bananas, completely covering them but leaving enough room for the meringue.

Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over the pudding, sealing the edges and being just as decorative as you'd like to be. (I whipped mine too early in the process and couldn't shape it very well by the time I got around to spreading it on. This has no impact on the taste but it's something to keep in mind.)














Turn your oven to broil but keep it as low as possible. Put the dish in the oven and keep an eye out. It shouldn't take longer than about 10 minutes and may be as short as 5! Don't even think about walking away!

The pudding is finished and ready to enjoy although you can let it set for a while in order for the wafers to get softer. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and eaten later either warm or cold. Those bananas are gonna turn brown pretty quickly though so don't be surprised.