Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafer Crumble

Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafer Crumble

Hi everybody :)

One of my favorite dessert is banana pudding. I love it with lots of cookies in the pudding. Homemade pudding is the best, instant is okay too, but hubby refuse to eat it. He can be picky at times :)

While browsing in the library one day, I saw this cookbook called Dam Good Sweet so I just had to check it out. I'm so glad I did. I stumbled across this recipe for banana pudding. It sounded very interesting because they crumbled the wafers and coated them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture before adding it to the pudding, just reading this got me all excited, so I knew I had to try it. Well; here we go...

Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafer Crumble adapted from Dam Good Sweet

The Pudding
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons banana liqueur (or 1 teaspoon banana flavoring)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas

The Crumble
1 cup vanilla wafers (about 15 cookies)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

To Make the Pudding:
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk a little at a time into the egg mixture. Once the bottom of the bowl is warm, slowly whisk in the remaining hot milk. Pour the mixture back into a clean medium saucepan (cleaning the saucepan prevents the pudding from scorching), add the banana liqueur, and whisk over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Cook while constantly whisking until the pudding is glossy and quite thick, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the pudding to a clean bowl.

Pudding Mixture

Add the vanilla and butter and gently whisk until the butter is completely melted and incorporated. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

To Make the Crumble:
While the pudding sets, heat the oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Place the wafers in a resealable plastic bag and seal (make sure there is no air in the bag prior to sealing). Using a rolling pin or a flat-bottomed saucepan or pot, crush the vanilla wafers until they're coarsely ground. Transfer them to a small bowl and stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a spoon to evenly stir in the melted butter, transfer to the prepared baking sheet, and toast in the oven until brown and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

1/2 whole and 1/2 crumbled

To Serve:
Slice the bananas in half crosswise and then slice in half lengthwise so you have 4 quarters. Slice the banana quarters crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces and divide between 6 custard cups or martini glasses (sprinkle with a squeeze of lemon juice if you like—this helps prevent browning). Whisk the pudding until it is soft and smooth, about 30 seconds, and then divide it between the custard cups. Top with the vanilla wafer mixture and serve.  Serves 6

What I Did & Think:
Being the southern girl I am, I triple the crumble mixture, left half of the cookies whole. :) I love a lot of cookies in my pudding. I follow the direction for the pudding mixture.

I  also wanted a whipped topping for my pudding, so I whipped one up. You know, I just had to flavor it with some banana liqueur. The recipe I used is below, make sure to use a cold whip or beater, bowl, and heavy cream. DO NOT OVER WHIP or you will end up with butter instead, whip just until stiffed.

OOOOHHH THE TASTE, THIS IS THE BEST PUDDING EVER!! I love, love, love the crumble mixtures and the pudding was wonderful. I layered this just before serving so that the crumble mixture will stay crisp. Oh my... oh my... oh my... this is definitely a REPEAT.

Whipped Topping
1/4 (2 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon  banana liqueur
3/4 cup heavy cream, cold

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar salt, vanilla and liqueur until smooth. In a cold mixer with cold whip attachment and cold bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cream cheese mixture.
Refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving. 

ENJOY! Come again....

Shared with:
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