Homemade banana pudding recipe is made from scratch with lots of old fashioned flavor. Creamy vanilla custard, sweet bananas, and crunchy vanilla wafers are layered to make a comforting dessert. Easy recipe.
Slowly add evaporated milk, whisking until well blended.
Microwave on high for about nine minutes until the mixture thickens, whisking every few minutes.
Add a little of the hot mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
Add the yolks back into the pudding, whisking constantly to keep the eggs from curdling.
Put back into the microwave and cook for 2 more minutes, whisking a couple of times.
Remove from heat and add the butter. Whisk until it is mixed well.
Stir in the vanilla (and bourbon if you're using it).
Add a layer of 'Nilla Wafers to the bottom of your serving dish.
Top with sliced banana.
Add more pudding and repeat the layers, ending with the pudding.
Sprinkle the top with cookie crumbs before serving.
Notes
Storage:Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate promptly. It will be fine for up to 4 days or so. The bananas are likely to get brown and watery after the first day.Tips:An old-fashioned secret to really rich puddings is evaporated milk. I have tried half and half, heavy cream, whole milk, and combinations of those ingredients and nothing makes a pudding creamier than evaporated milk. You can substitute 3 cups of milk if you want to - but I am telling you the evaporated milk works best.
I don't recommend low-fat milk and I've never tried non-dairy milks.
Dip bananas in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.
Cooking the rich vanilla egg custard in the microwave means that it doesn't scorch and is always creamy. You can cook it on top of the stove if you want but stir it constantly!
Make this the day before you plan on serving it if you can. The cookies soak up all the flavor and it's just SO good.
For the best result use ripe bananas but not so ripe they're turning into liquid or mushy. They should still be firm.
You can save the egg whites to make meringue for the top or save them for another use.
Top with whipped cream if you like.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Homemade banana pudding is even better the next day.
Sometimes I whip the egg whites up into a stiff, sweetened meringue and then carefully fold it into the cooled custard right before putting it all together.You end up with a lighter mouth feel with all the flavor and deliciousness of the pudding. Kinda like a mousse.Try it that way once and if you don't like it just use the meringue as a topping next time instead of folding it in.If you want to use the egg whites for a meringue topping you'll beat them with ¼ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cream of tartar until stiff.Spread them over your chilled pudding and then bake at 325F for 15 minutes, until the meringue starts to get golden brown.