This Southern Dessert Will Make You Go Bananas

What makes this Southern banana pudding recipe extra special is the Italian meringue on top. I had never tried meringue with banana pudding before, but it sounded good, so I thought why not!

The kids could barely wait until it was ready but I let them help me put together the layers. They were in awe over the meringue, especially when they saw me use the kitchen blowtorch! By the way, if you don’t have one, you can assemble the layers in an oven-proof dish and take it under the broiler for a quick moment, to lightly brown the meringue.

 

Ingredients

For the custard:

12 egg yolks

3/4 cup Domino sugar

1/3 cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups McArthur whole milk

2 cups Borden heavy cream

4 tsp vanilla paste or extract

1 box vanilla wafers

4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced

For the Italian meringue:

1 cup Domino sugar

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

 

Instructions:

For the custard:

In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until well combined. Whisk in the flour and salt, followed by the milk and 1 cup of the cream.

Cook the custard base over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and begins to bubble. After the custard starts to bubble, cook it for one minute more and then strain through a mesh sieve into a large bowl. Immediately whisk in the remaining cup of cream and the vanilla.

Put a small amount of custard in the bottom of an 8-cup casserole or serving dish, top with a layer of cookies and then a layer of banana. Add another, more generous, layer of custard. Then add another layer of cookies and bananas, and so on, ending with a layer of custard.

Cover with the meringue and, if desired, lightly brown using a kitchen blowtorch. Serve.

For the Italian meringue:

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine one cup of sugar and enough water so that you have what looks like wet sand. Cook, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 240 F.

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are frothy.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and, with the mixer running, carefully pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites. Once all of the sugar syrup has been added, increase the mixer speed and beat the egg whites until medium peaks form and the meringue is glossy and opaque. Spread on top of the banana pudding and torch lightly.

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Quick tip: Leftover meringue will keep in the fridge for a couple of days – if it lasts that long…

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