Banana Pudding

What an amazing week I’ve had! I just got back from a little vacation in NYC where I took a chocolate class and learned all about chocolate panning and other chocolate treats. This is the second class I’ve taken at L’Ecole Valrhona Brooklyn, and I can’t tell you how much I loved it. First of all, it’s like a DREAM pastry chef’s kitchen. Literally all the tools, machines, equipment any pastry chef would ever need. These machines are easily 40-50 THOUSAND dollars each. I was in heaven. Panning is a technique where an item such as an almond, or hazelnut is coated in layers and layers of chocolate, then polished to perfection. It is made using a panning machine which is basically an open drum that spins. It was relatively easy to pick up the technique, and now I just want to pan everything!

Aside from the class, I went exploring and ate at some amazing places. Jungsik, a 2-michelin star Korean restaurant, Le-Bernadin, a 3-michelin star fish restaurant, Empellon, tacos and amazing desserts, Ippudo, the most amazing ramen I’ve ever had. These were just a *few* of the places. It’s so inspiring to eat such great food and now that I’m home again, I just want to dive into my work and make some cool new stuff. I guess you can say it was a good vacation, right?   

 This recipe is for all the banana lovers out there. Everyone needs a good banana pudding recipe in their arsenal, and this one is packed with fresh banana flavor. Feel free to just purchase vanilla wafers if you don’t feel like making them! Lastly, this dish needs time to set up before serving so everything can merry together. Banana Pudding7×11-inch serving dish Vanilla WafersButter 4 oz.Sugar 8 oz.Egg 1Vanilla 1 tspFlour 7 oz.Baking powder ¾ tspSalt ¼ tsp Banana CustardYolks 4Sugar 4 oz.Bananas, mashed 4Milk 4 oz.Cream, whipped 12 oz.Vanilla bean ½ podLemon juice 2 T Bananas, slices 3-4 Cinnamon sugarCinnamon 1 ½ tspPowdered sugar ¼ cup Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together. Scrape down sides as needed. Add egg, vanilla, and dry ingredients. Prepare two sheet trays with parchment paper. Scoop out 1 teaspoon sized balls and place them on the tray, 1-inch apart from each-other. Continue to do this until you are out of dough. Bake vanilla wafers for about 15 minutes, or until edges around are golden brown.To make custard, set up a double boiler by filling a pot with 1-inch of water. Turn heat on medium. In a glass or metal bowl, combine yolks, sugar, milk. Put bowl over steaming pot and whisk until the eggs have thickened. Whisk in the mashed banana, lemon juice, and vanilla bean seeds. Set aside. Whip up cream to medium-stiff peaks. Fold cream into banana mixture. Now, assemble your pudding. Line the bottom of the serving dish with vanilla wafers. Add some sliced bananas on top, then a thin layer of banana custard. Repeat until you are flush with the top of your dish. To top, mix together cinnamon and powdered sugar. Dust the top with cinnamon sugar. Chill pudding for 24 hours before serving. Enjoy! 

Print Recipe

Banana Pudding

Make your own banana pudding from scratch with homemade vanilla wafers!
Servings: 8
Author: Saura Madani

Ingredients

Vanilla Wafers

• 4 oz butter
• 8 oz sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 7 oz flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Banana Custard

• 4 yolks
• 4 oz sugar
• 4 bananas, mashed
• 4 oz milk
• 12 oz cream, whipped
• 1/2 vanilla bean pod
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 bananas, sliced

Cinnamon Sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together. Scrape down sides as needed. Add egg, vanilla, and dry ingredients.
• Prepare two sheet trays with parchment paper. Scoop out 1 teaspoon sized balls and place them on the tray, 1-inch apart from each-other. Continue to do this until you are out of dough.
• Bake vanilla wafers for about 15 minutes, or until edges around are golden brown.
• To make custard, set up a double boiler by filling a pot with 1-inch of water. Turn heat on medium.
• In a glass or metal bowl, combine yolks, sugar, milk. Put bowl over steaming pot and whisk until the eggs have thickened. Whisk in the mashed banana, lemon juice, and vanilla bean seeds. Set aside.
• Whip up cream to medium-stiff peaks. Fold cream into banana mixture.
• Now, assemble your pudding.
  Line the bottom of the serving dish with vanilla wafers. Add some sliced bananas on top, then a thin layer of banana custard. Repeat until you are flush with the top of your dish.
• To top, mix together cinnamon and powdered sugar. Dust the top with cinnamon sugar.
• Chill pudding for 24 hours before serving.
  Enjoy!