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Assembling Classic Banana Pudding in mason jars, with crushed ginger snap cookies in a bowl.

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.