How to Make Southern Banana Pudding Two Ways.

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I had never had Southern Banana Pudding until I was a junior in college – in Utah, I know, I know. It’s shameful, but true. One of my roommates made it, and it was perspective shifting. Hot pudding with bananas in it can be good!?!?!

It does sound weird, but tastes oh so good,

In my post about my trip to Savannah, I mentioned that we had a cold banana pudding at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room. That version was cold, creamy, and perfect for our steamy day in the low country. So, naturally, this led me to this question: which is better in a head-to-head taste test, baked or chilled banana pudding? Obviously, I had testing to do

This vanilla pudding uses egg yolks, so it is cooked slowly in a bowl set above a pot of boiling water. The steam heats the bowl and cooks the pudding.

I did quite a bit of trial and error in this pudding recipe. I made three batches that just wouldn’t thicken! It was muy frustrating. Finally, I took a look at my equipment. I was using a glass bowl set over a pot with boiling water to cook my pudding. I thought the glass would insulate the pudding so that it wouldn’t curdle.

Well, it insulated too effectively, and the pudding never got hot enough to thicken. I switched to a metal bowl, and poof! It thickened right up. Use a metal bowl, and save yourselves a couple hours of frustration.

Also, when the custard is done, you will be able to dip a spoon into it, turn it over, run your finger along the back of the spoon, and it will leave a trail, like this:

The hardest part of this recipe is the pudding. Once that is done, it’s just assembling and topping.

For the Chilled Banana Pudding:

1. Make ye olde pudding.

2. in a 7’’x11’’ pan (I used Pyrex so you can see the vanilla wafer cookies poking out), layer the cookies, then custard, bananas, cookies, custard, etc. until you can’t fit anymore. I did 3 layers.

3. Slap that baby in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. I made my plastic wrap touch the top of the pudding so it didn’t form a skin. It did take off some of the tops of the cookies when I pulled the wrap off, but it gets covered with whipped cream, so who cares?
4. Chill overnight, or for as long as you can stand it.
5. When ready to serve, take off the plastic wrap, whip up the whipped cream and swoosh it on top.

For the Baked Banana Pudding:

1. Assembly is the same as the chilled pudding, except there is a meringue topping instead of whipped cream
2. To make the meringue, whip 6 egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. This means that when you take the beater out of the mixer, you get something like this:

3. Glorp the meringue on top of the pudding, and make swooshes with the back of a spoon.

4. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Let cool slightly and dig in!

The Taste Test Results

So, which version is better, you ask? Well, of our very scientific test group of 4 people, 3 preferred the baked banana pudding, but just barely. As it bakes, it takes on some caramel-y notes that really make it special. That being said, the chilled was delicious, and a little easier to put together.

If I was going to serve this banana pudding at a summer barbeque, I would bring the chilled version. On the other hand, if I was going to make this for a special dessert after, say, a holiday dinner, I would bake it. Choose your own adventure!

I hope you enjoy this special banana pudding, no matter which way you make it. Share this post with your treat-loving friends and spread The At-Home Test Cook love!

Smooches!