People requested Pa to make this quite often. He took this traditionally Southern recipe and made it his own. For one friend who didn’t like bananas, he substituted pineapple. He always set aside a small portion of the pudding for Shalon and put coconut in it. (Sound good? See Granny’s Coconut Cream Pie.)
It is important to note that all the eggs Pa used were jumbo, nothing else will do!
Howard was probably making banana pudding even as a young man. This picture may have been taken in the late 1940’s.
4 to 5 large bananas
Vanilla wafers
Pudding:
4 cups milk
4 jumbo egg yolks
1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Meringue:
4 jumbo egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
In a saucepan, combine milk and sugar. Heat on medium. Blend cornstarch in just enough cold water to dissolve and add the eggs. (This prevents your having lumps or scrambled eggs in the pudding!) Gradually pour the egg mixture into the heated milk. Add the vanilla. Stir constantly, until thickened. If it should become lumpy, try beating it with a mixer.
To make the meringue: Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, adding sugar a little at a time until it is dissolved and the meringue is stiff and glossy.
In a large bowl, alternate a layer of pudding with a layer of banana slices and a layer of vanilla wafers. Continue until you reach the top of the bowl. Top with meringue. Place the bowl in a heated oven on low broil and watch it constantly until it toasts golden brown. Can be eaten warm or cold.
Desserts, 2001