An old fashioned, classic banana pudding made with simple ingredients…
I am back this week with another theme for the Blogging Marathon #122. As usual, I went with a theme that would deem easy as well as would help me get through some of my drafts plus some more on my to-do list. Hehe… This week, the theme I chose was “Sweets with Fruits or Vegetables”. As much as I love to eat my fruits, I always wonder if I can use them to make something sweet. Since I am in a mission to try and reduce all the weight that the lockdown has bought onto me – I don’t want to blame it completely but still… 😉 – I am trying to reduce making sweets at home. If I do make, I keep the quantity minimal and end up distributing it as much as I can, after doing a taster. At times I feel sad that I am not eating as much as I would like to, but somewhere I need to draw a line on myself, isn’t it?
Anyway, coming back to the recipe for today… Banana Pudding is said to be a classic dessert in any South American kitchen. The dessert is nothing but some crushed wafer like cookies, a luscious creamy custard pudding interlayered with sliced bananas. Sounds simple, isn’t it? Since I don’t have banana fans at home – one of who celebrated her fourtheenth birthday a couple of days ago, Alhamdulillah… – I decided to try the famous Magnolia Bakery banana pudding before trying to make them at home. I must say I didn’t like it. It was overtly sweet and quite dense in texture for me. After reading so many great reviews, oohs and aahs all over the net, I was immensely disappointed to have paid so much for something I really didn’t enjoy. 🙁
Fast forward to this attempt to try making banana pudding at home…. I had all the ingredients that I wanted, mainly the overripe bananas. Hehe… You actually don’t need over ripe bananas for this recipe. You would need them to be just of the right ripeness, but ensure that there isn’t a hint of rawness in it, or else it would spoil up the entire pudding for you. We toss them up in some lemon juice so that they don’t change color. The next layer is the wafer rolls. You can used crushed cookies but if you find unflavored wafer rolls, it is the best. I found them in Lulu under their own brand in a pack of 150 gm. They felt like the wafer biscuits without the cream in it. They weren’t that amazing to eat on their own but when they went into this pudding, it was amazing! It have a nice texture and beautiful crunch to the pudding.
Then comes the custard layer. The pudding is a simple cooked custard folded into some whipped cream, making it light and fluffy. It is advised make the custard in advance so that it gets cooled in time for the assembly. Once assembled, allow it ample resting time for the flavors to mingle, and then just dig in post a heavy lunch. Unlike the Banoffee pie, this pudding is quite light to the tummy and very enjoyable. If you want a more banana-ey flavor, you can try adding some banana essence to the custard, but I thought that the bananas themselves did a good job spreading their flavors throughout the pudding, although they were lying at the bottom. Hehe… Off to this simple recipe…
Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp custard powder heaped
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 ml whipping cream
- 125 gm plain wafers crused
- 3 banana, meduim sliced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Whisk the milk, custard powder and sugar in a saucepan. Cook on low flame till the mixture has thickened. Switch off and allow to cool.
- Whip the cream till stiff. Fold in the cooled custard. Add the vanilla.
- In a small glass bowl, crush the wafers and spread on the bottom. Keep a little for garnish.
- Chop the bananans coarsely and toss the lemon juice in. Spread the bananas on top of the water.
- Spread the prepared custard mixture on top. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until settled.
This looks simply sinful Rafeeda..I love all your sweet takes and though I am not such a sweet lover myself, except of course for chocolate, hhehe, all other creations are still droolworthy!…happy birthday to your kid..
Belated B’day wishes to your kid. And the pudding is such a classic one. Just delicious.
Happy Birthday to the princess ! I am not a banana fan, but don’t mind puddings. This one looks nice and creamy.
Wish I had the same determination to lose weight as is yours. I always end up eating one full serving of the dish I prepare in taste testing only. This banana pudding is such an easy dish. Bananas are always at home, so could give it a try right now I’m sure my family will love it
Wish I had half as much as self control as you do! Desserts are my weakness and especially Indian desserts. This pudding is so simple to make and love the different texture in one mouthful. And I also happen to have overripe bananas all the time.
Banana pudding looks so creamy and delicious. Love the idea of using wafers which makes it crunchy. Its ok to indulge in such sinful treats once in a while
Love this simple dessert that could satisfy all the cravings. Happy birthday to you kid. Thanks for the recipe.