Ever wonder what to make with your ripened bananas besides banana bread? Banana pudding is the must next thing! It’s super delicious and super addicting!

Banana Pudding

Now before you go on ahead and think ‘is this just a banana-flavoured pudding?’ Kind of, but not really. The banana pudding we will be making is a type of dessert that’s assembled similarly to an Italian tiramisu or an English trifle.

The banana pudding dessert originated in the United States. It’s been adapted throughout the years from using sponge cakes, wafers and vanilla or banana pudding. But today, we will make this banana pudding using homemade vanilla cookies and banana custard.

The Best Banana Pudding Recipe

Banana pudding is fairly simple, consisting of layers of vanilla cookies, banana custard and of course the main star, bananas. Top it off with some light whipped cream on top and cookie crumbs. Set it in the fridge overnight to let it set and for the flavours to intensify.

Once you take a spoonful, you can’t stop. It’s so light and creamy and it tastes just like a light, banana ice cream!

The Flavour of the Cookie is Important

You can prefer to buy store-bought cookies yourselves, as long as they are vanilla or milk flavoured. Or you can choose to do better and make them yourselves. Remember, homemade is always better than store-bought! Most of the time at least.

So the type I’ve made in this recipe is vanilla cookies. The reason why you want vanilla or milk flavoured is that the flavours don’t take away from the main flavour which is banana. Anything vanilla or milk flavours tend to absorb other flavours better than let’s say chocolate or coffee.

Homemade Banana Custard

Even though it’s called banana pudding, this is originally made with custard. Other recipes usually use store-bought vanilla or banana pudding instead of traditional custard. But I am telling you, making your banana custard is so much better! So the difference between pudding and custard is well, custard is made with yolks as the main thickening agent, whilst pudding is by using cornstarch. The flavours are a lot richer this way. Adding any source of fats helps with absorbing more flavours, in this case, the banana.

If this is your first time making a custard, the only thing you will need to be more aware of is during the cooking process. Always make sure that the heat is not higher than medium, as it can cook the eggs, thus resulting in a more curdled custard texture. For me, I would always cook it on low heat to prevent any curdles or overcooking.

Assembling Banana Pudding

Once you’re all done with all your main components, you can finally assemble the banana pudding. First the cookie, next the banana custard and then your banana slices. Repeat this until the top of your glass/container.

This Banana Puding is better assembled in a transparent glass/container so you can see all the beautiful layers. Once you’re done, you can put this in the fridge overnight for the layers to set and the flavours to intensify. Then finally, before serving, top it off with a dollop of whipped cream and cookie crumbs. And now you’re all done assembling the banana pudding, it’s that easy!

This is one of the most enjoyable desserts I’ve made because you get to make so many different components! I hope when you make it, you’ll enjoy the experience as much as I did!

Some tips that might be useful:

• When making the custard, make sure it’s on low heat and constantly stir to prevent cooking the mixture.
• Chilling overnight helps intensify the flavour more but if you can’t wait, you can always eat it on the spot.