Classic Homemade Banana Pudding

All the comfort and cozy memories of a pudding dessert, with the added bonus of fresh sliced bananas, crumbled cookies, and homemade vanilla pudding.

No boxes needed for this dessert, I’m sharing a classic vanilla pudding recipe below, that you can use in a variety of settings.  On it’s own, it is a simple joy.  Add fresh fruit or caramel sauce, and it is a wonderful dessert.  Or as we are doing here, folding it into whipped cream creates a lightened pudding that is perfect for this iconic retro dessert.

Components of Banana Pudding

The name kind of gives it away! You will need fresh bananas, vanilla pudding, whipped cream, cookies, and our addition (well, Jim’s actually) banana chips!  Also a small touch of fresh squeezed lemon juice to gently brush on any banana slices that will be placed on top, for presentation, is an option. If you want to avoid using lemon juice, why not just use the banana chips as a garnish, they won’t turn colour.

As for the cookies, the traditional southern cookie to use is a vanilla or Nilla wafer. A simple vanilla scented cookie or biscuit.  But I like a bit of contrast to this layer in the pudding, so my personal favourite is a gingersnap cookie.  You can really use any dry cookie or wafer you want.  Lady fingers, Biscoff or Speculaas cookie would also be fantastic.  Here is a great gluten free version of speculaas cookies that would be great. These days there are so many good gluten free cookies at the store, pick your favourite, or bake up some ginger molasses cookies.

Trifle Bowl or Mason Jars?

This recipe is enough to fill a trifle bowl.  However, it is also enough to fill 6-7 mason jars to create personalized desserts that can be easily stored in the fridge for spontaneous enjoyment.  I like the mason jar method if I am making this dessert for just the two of us.  Using jars with lids means that I can make, and store, and we can enjoy banana pudding throughout the week.

If you are making a large trifle bowl worth for a family dessert, as I suggest above, you could gently brush any banana slices that you use on the top for garnish with lemon juice, this will keep them from browning. You don’t need to drown them, just a little bit will do. The flavour isn’t so overpowering that the pudding below won’t immediately replace the sunny lemon flavour.  This isn’t at all necessary if you are serving it within a short period of time.  But if the pudding is sitting out for any length of time, it is an option.

Method

First off, you will make the vanilla pudding.  It’s as easy as whipping egg yolks with sugar and cornstarch and slowly adding simmering milk to them to temper them.  Once all whisked together, return to the stove top to cook on medium low till thickened. Then fold in butter and vanilla.  Let it cool completely.  Once cooled, you will whip the cream with some icing sugar and corn starch. Once you have achieved stiff peaks, fold in the vanilla pudding in small portions till fully incorporated.  Now you are ready to assemble.  This can be made in advance and chilled till needed.

Whether you are using a large bowl or individual glasses or jars, it will all work the same.  You will start with a layer of pudding.  Then lay down a layer of cookies, then a layer of sliced bananas.  Layer more pudding, and repeat with the cookies and banana slices.

Finish with another layer of pudding, and garnish with some cookies, crushed cookie crumbs, and some fresh bananas or banana chips.  If you want to skip the gently brushed lemon banana slices, just a copious amounts of banana chips is really fun.  And they add some good crunch.  You can add the garnish just before serving.

Now comes the patience.  Ideally, you want the pudding to set for a few hours, so that the pudding will seep into the cookies, softening them slightly.  This makes a huge difference.  The cookies become soft enough for the spoon to cut into, making the pudding less of an effort or mess to eat.  Don’t skip this step.

Using smaller jars with lids means that you can have leftovers, to be enjoyed throughout the week, when late night fridge raiding is called for.

For other classic Retro Desserts check out Old Fashioned Creamy Rice Pudding, Chocolate Chunk Sticky Toffee Pudding, Mocha Chocolate Pudding, Bourbon Brioche Bread Pudding, Clementine Creamsicle Mousse, Basil Strawberry Shortcake Parfait with Lemon Curd, Summer Trifle with Berries

If you make this cozy and comforting Classic Banana Pudding, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

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Classic Banana Pudding

A comforting classic dessert, this one uses no boxes or pre-made pudding. Here is a classic vanilla pudding recipe, along with whipped cream, bananas, and your cookies and layered together for a scrumptious treat.

Course Dessert

Cuisine North American

Keyword banana, gingersnap cookies, pudding

Prep Time 45 minutes

Chilling Time 6 hours

Servings 6

Ingredients

Vanilla Pudding Filling

• 2 cups (455g) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (115 g) granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp (40 g) cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• Yolks from 4 large eggs, straight from the fridge
• 2 tbsp (30 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Banana Pudding

• 3-5 medium bananas, depending on whether you are using small glass jars, or one large trifle bowl
• lemon juice, optional
• 1 bag or package of vanilla wafers, gingersnap cookies, lady fingers or biscoff cookies, your choice
• handful banana chips for garnish, optional

Instructions

Vanilla Pudding Layer

1. In a large bowl, set up an ice bath by partially filling it with a combination of cold water and ice. Set aside.
2. Heat the milk in a medium sauce pan over medium heat till just warmed through. Remove from the heat before it starts to steam.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium heatproof mixing bowl set on top of a dampened towel (this serves as a stable base), stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in egg yolks until mixture is pale yellow, smooth, and fluffy, about 1 minute.
4. While whisking continuously, slowly pour a small amount of the milk into egg yolk mixture in a thin stream. Then add more milk, whisking until all of it has been added.
5. Return the mixture to the same saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until pastry cream begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Once it thickens, continue to whisk, pausing every few seconds to check for bubbles, about 1 minute. When it begins to bubble, set a timer and continue whisking for 1 minute. This step is important to neutralize a starch-dissolving protein found in egg yolks.

6. Off-heat, whisk in butter until melted and thoroughly combined. Then whisk in the vanilla paste. If you sense any lumps, strain the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve set over a heatproof medium bowl. Immediately place plastic wrap or buttered parchment paper directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Transfer bowl to prepared ice bath to chill for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.

7. When you are ready to make the pudding mixture, pull the pudding from the fridge to loosen up. Use a whisk to completely loosen it, removing as many lumps as possible, so that it will easily blend into the whipped cream (next step)

8. Using a stand or handheld mixer, mix the whipping cream in a large bowl at low speed. Slowly increase the speed to medium and whip till starting to thicken.
9. Add the cornstarch and icing sugar, and continue whisking till you have achieved very firm peaks.
10. Spoon in about 1/4 cup of the whisked vanilla pudding into the whipped cream and fold it through till smooth. Continue adding the pudding in portions till you have one smooth bowl of combined whipping and pudding. Place this in the fridge while you slice up the cake.

Assemble

1. If using one trifle bowl, I would use all five medium bananas. For the smaller glasses, you will definitely need less.

2. Take three or so of the cookies and grind down to coarse crumbs. You can use a mortar and pestle, food grinder, or just place in a freezer bag and run a rolling pin over it till cookies are crushed. Set aside.

3. Place down a layer of the pudding mixture.

4. Lay out one layer of the cookies you are using. Lay banana slices over the cookies. Keep cutting up bananas as needed. Don't be stingy. Save enough cookies for garnish on top, about five or so for the large bowl, and one per glass if using individual jars.

5. Repeat with the pudding layer, cookies and bananas.
6. Finish with the remaining pudding.
7. Seal with plastic and place the bowl (jars) in the fridge to allow the pudding and cookies to meld, and the cookies to soften. Give it a good three to four hours. If you have covered the banana slices evenly with the pudding mixture you will not need to worry about them browning at all.

When ready to serve:

1. Lay out the final cookies on top of the pudding and sprinkle with the coarse cookie crumbs.

2. You can also garnish with some banana slices that you have gently brushed with a small amount of fresh lemon juice. This will help them from browning if the pudding will be sitting out for a while.

3. For a final garnish and lovely crunch, add broken up banana chips.
4. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and enjoyed over the next few days. As long as no bananas are exposed to the air, the pudding will be just fine. In fact, we actually love as the cookies soften even further and almost melt into the pudding!

Recipe Notes

I say this feeds six, but it can feed up to eight, especially if served from the trifle bowl, or if the glass jars you are using are on the smaller side.

If your jars have lids, spoon the pudding up to the top and cover with lids to store in the fridge till ready to serve.  They will need a good four hours for the pudding and cookies to meld.

Once you remove the lids you can finish garnishing and then serve.

The vanilla pudding itself is a wonderful dessert that you can serve with fresh fruit, or spooned on the side of a slice of pound cake.