Ripen Your Bananas

Ripe bananas are the key to tasty banana pudding, so be sure yours are sufficiently ripened. They should be bright yellow with brown spots. Bananas ripen best in the dark, so leave them in a paper bag until they are ready to be used.

Gather Your Ingredients

For banana pudding you will need:

• 1 Cup of Sugar
• ½ Cup Flour
• ½ Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Cups Whole Milk
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tablespoon Butter (NOT Margarine)
• 4 Egg Yolks
• A Box of Vanilla Wafers or Other Wafer-like Cookie
• 4-5 Perfectly Ripened Bananas

Prepare the Pudding

Place vanilla wafers at the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish.

Peel the bananas and cut into ½ inch slices. Quickly cover the slices to prevent browning.

Combine sugar, flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir together and mash out any lumps.

Place egg yolks in a heavy saucepan. Whip the eggs briskly using a fork or whisk over medium heat.

Add flour mixture alternating with milk and vanilla until all are combined.

Bring to a gentle boil.

As the mixture thickens, add the butter and continue stirring

Stir consistently as the mixture boils gently until it reaches a pudding like consistency.

Remove the pudding from heat.

Prepare the Dish

Pull out the 9×9 baking pan already lined with vanilla wafers. Add a layer of banana slices on top of the wafers being careful to keep the bananas tightly placed together.

Pour half of the pudding mixture into the dish, smoothing it out with a spatula. Then, add another layer of wafers and bananas topped with the remainder of the banana pudding.

Prepare the Meringue

Make a quick meringue by beating four egg whites on high until they form soft peaks. Then add ¼ teaspoon of cream of tarter and five tablespoons of sugar – one at a time, beating on high speed throughout. When the mixture forms stiff peaks, fold in ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Bake and Serve!

Spread the meringue over the layers of pudding being sure to seal the edges of the pan. Then bake the pudding at 375 degrees until the meringue browns (about 12-15 minutes.) Serve and Enjoy!