Grandma's Banana Pudding

The end result here is the world’s best banana pudding. Sure. It takes a little time and effort. Most really fabulous dishes do. This one is worth every second.


Grandma’s Banana Pudding from Scratch


Basic Pudding


 2 cups scalded milk (cook until it forms a little skin on top - careful and don't scorch the bottom)
 ¾ cup sugar
 ¼ tsp salt
 1/3 cup plain flour
 2 eggs (only use the yolks for the pudding part of the recipe)
 1 ½ tsp lemon juice (or vanilla flavoring is fine and what I use)


Meringue


 2 egg whites (left over from the two egg yolks used in the pudding)
 2 tsp sugar
 Other Items Needed
 3 or 4 bananas
 Vanilla Wafer cookies


Directions:


First scald the milk. Heat it until it forms a little skin on top. Do not use high heat and burn the bottom of the milk.


Combine the sugar, salt, and flour and stir into the scalded milk. Pour this right in the pan where the milk has just been scalded.


Cook over low to medium heat until the mixture thickens to a pudding consistency.


Take a spoon of the hot mixture and put it in a bowl with the egg yolks only (saving egg whites for meringue). This is done to keep the eggs from curdling or turning into lumpy little gross bits of egg that do not taste good in the pudding or anything else for that matter. Adding just a spoon of the hot mixture over allows the eggs to adjust to the temperature.


Once the hot mixture is stirred into the egg yolks, the egg yolks can be poured into the pudding mixture.

At this point, the pot is off the heat but it’s still pretty hot – just having been thickened.


Put the pot back on the heat and cook just a little longer to get the egg cooked and mixed well in with the milk mixture. Add lemon juice or vanilla.


Get a large bowl out. A mixing bowl is fine, but you’ll need to cover the top.


Place a layer of Vanilla Wafers in the bowl on the bottom and up the sides as best you can. Some bowls are easier to line with wafers than others.


Cover the Vanilla Wafers with a layer of bananas.


Pour half the homemade pudding over the bananas. The homemade pudding will slowly engulf the bananas and cookies.


Layer again the same as above. Put down a flat layer of cookies and cover with bananas in what will be the center of the pudding bowl. Pour the rest of the pudding over this middle layer.


To make the meringue which goes on top of the completed pudding, beat the egg whites with a mixer and gradually add sugar. This will look a big like Cool Whip when ready.


Spread the meringue over the top of the banana pudding. Use fingers to press meringue to edge of bowls. Otherwise, it shrinks and doesn’t look as pretty.


Put meringue under the broiler in the oven very briefly. You just want a light brown on the edges and tips of the meringue.


That’s how to make my Grandma’s banana pudding. It really can’t be beat. I’m totally spoiled when it comes to banana pudding. This is the only one that I’ll eat really.