After posting yesterday’s recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake I got to thinking that I should share another old school favorite for Mother’s Day. If you’ve ever been in the south to a church picnic a BBQ or just about any party then you’ll know what I’m talking about . Banana pudding is one of those things you’ll find at almost any function where people gather. Of course right now we’re not gathering but that’s no reason not to enjoy a delicious dish of banana pudding! I’m in a bit of a bind today as I couldn’t find all the ingredients I wanted so I’m going to make a “quick” version using a few pre-made ingredients. Don’t worry it’ll still taste great, and be much faster. I’m sort of an egg snob, not only because I’ve raised chickens and got spoiled by the taste of fresh eggs laid by happy chickens, but also I’m very much against the way large commercial egg producers treat their chickens. For that reason I couldn’t find any organic eggs so I’m not making the custard from scratch. I also couldn’t get any heavy cream so I’m using already made whipped cream. However, if you can find the heavy cream and eggs go ahead and make the custard and the whipped cream from scratch it’s so much better!
There’s many recipes on the web for banana pudding but I’m not willing to stray much from the tried and true. I’ve seen people do crazy things with their banana pudding and I’ve seen the looks on peoples faces when they try the new fangled twists. We’re going to go a little astray by using a package of cream cheese, but after it gets mixed with the sweetened condensed milk you won’t know it’s in there! Some people like to use a graham cracker crust or shortbread cookies but I was raised with Nilla wafers in my banana pudding and that’s where we’re headed . Another plus is there’s absolutely no cooking today! Let’s dive right in.
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 14 ounce size
- 12 ounces whipped topping or homemade whipped cream
- 1 package of softened cream cheese 8 ounce size
- 1 box of Nilla wafers 11 ounce size or larger
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding 3.4 ounce size -some brands are 5 oz
- 2 cups of milk
- 6 bananas ,sliced into 1/8-1/4 inch rounds
- In a 13×9 inch Tupperware or similar dish line the bottom with whole Nilla wafers.
- Top the wafers with sliced bananas. Add more if you desire.
- In a mixing bowl using a whisk or hand mixer, combine the milk and pudding mix and set aside to let it thicken up.
- In another bowl combine the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk and blend well. Go ahead give it a taste!
- Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture then add that to the pudding mixture.
- Pour the combined mixes over the bananas and wafers.
- Cover the top with whole wafers or crush them up and create a crumbly crust. (that’s how I like to do it)
- Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours .
- Serve cold
What could be easier than that? If you have the time and the ingredients you can forgo the cream cheese and make a custard using milk, sugar, vanilla extract and egg yolks. Some people also use whole eggs and corn starch. Check on the internet for a recipe, just search for vanilla custard. To make the whipped cream use 1 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. Using a hand mixer stir until soft peaks are formed. Be careful not to over stir it or the whipped cream will come out tasting sort of like butter.
I’m hoping you’ll give this recipe a try and if you do please let me know how it turned out. If you have a recipe for banana pudding I’d love to see it. The more we share with one another the richer our lives will be. As always if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below. Until next time Boone Appétit!
