One of my fondest memories of childhood was banana pudding. Whether it be the quick and easy Nilla wafers and a box of vanilla pudding and some bananas mixed in or the labor intensive kind that requires 2 hours of standing over a double boiler. I LOVE banana pudding. So when I found this recipe in The Church Ladies' Celestial Suppers and Sensible Advice, I knew I had to try it. I changed it a little, as I tend to do with any recipe. But I loved it, and this whole cookbook so much, I had to mention it.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease a baking dish with cooking spray.
Slice up 6-7 large bananas. Place in a bag and pour pineapple juice over. Toss to coat evenly.
Layer Nilla wafers on bottom and sides of baking dish. (I'm of theory that the more Nilla wafers in a banana pudding the better so don't worry if you feel like it's too much)
Seperate 3 eggs, pouring the egg whites into a mixing bowl.
Pour the yolks into a mixing bowl along with the condensed milk,
half and half, and vanilla nut extract.
Mix together until soupy.
Place a layer of bananas in dish and cover with half of the
pudding mixture.
Cover with a layer of Nilla wafer, as many as you want.
Top with another layer of bananas and the rest of the pudding.
Meanwhile add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 tbs of the banana/pinapple juices
to the mixing bowl with the egg whites.
Whip together until stiff. I like to have this going while i'm layering
the pudding simply because waiting for this process to happen is like watching
a pot of water begin to boil. If you're not watching it happens in a snap.
If you're standing there waiting it takes simply forever.
Top everything with the meringue.
Pop in oven for about 15 minutes.
Let cool before serving. Personally, I like this best after it's been in the refrigerator for a few hours, but it's a matter of taste.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 12-oz box vanilla wafers
5-7 large bananas
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condesed milk
1/2 cup half and half
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 tsp vanilla nut extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
