This is the southern, old fashioned banana pudding that my Memaw Young made hundreds of times in her tiny kitchen. I have piles of recipes that she wrote out by hand on scraps of paper, or on a piece of cardboard- anything she could find. I can remember her at night, she would talk to her friends on the rotary dial phone. She would snap her fingers at me and whisper, “Christy, find me a piece of paper.” Then she would start writing.
Sharing recipes back then didn’t involve a smartphone, computer or pictures. It was all word of mouth. I can hear her now, hanging up the phone and saying, “Irene just told me that a lady down the street had this wonderful icebox pie at the church homecoming. She gave me the recipe. I need to call Edna and give it to her before I forget.” And then the calls would start. And as you can imagine, sometimes the translation from one person to another got a little twisted, like a piece of southern gossip spreading through town.
For years after she passed, I tried to find her banana pudding recipe with no success. Then one day, I found a piece of blank cardboard with some of her recipes. I flipped it over and it was the side of the Nilla Wafer box- the side with the original Nilla Wafer banana pudding recipe. I made it - and it was close but not enough custard. So I made it again and doubled the custard part of the recipe…and that was it. Her magical banana pudding recipe! That recipe is still on the side of the box to this day!
My dad was not a huge dessert fan, but he loved this banana pudding and several times I even made it for him on his birthday. Dado, my father in law, was also a banana pudding lover. I actually made this recipe for him the first time we met. He said it was my banana pudding and fried okra that won him over.
I like to make it in a cast iron skillet. The skillet will keep it warm, which is exactly how I like my banana pudding- right out of the oven. Today, I made it in a 9X13 dish to take to a Friendsgiving and it was hit. You may have noticed a small white ramekin of banana pudding in the corner. I had to make Jay some so he wouldn't try and snag some out of my nice, pretty dish. I hope you love this recipe as much as my family does. it brings back wonderful memories to me every time I make it.
This recipe was adapted straight from the Nilla Wafer box by doubling the custard portion.
Place all custard ingredients, except the vanilla, into a large saucepan and over medium heat, continually stir. It will begin to thicken around 8-10 minutes. When it is pudding consistency, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Place a thin layer of pudding in your dish. This is just to hold down the next layer, which is wafers. After the wafers, place the sliced bananas and cover with pudding. And repeat: wafers, banana slices, pudding.
Next, is the meringue. Place the egg whites and sugar into a bowl and mix until stiff peaks form. Spread over the top of the banana pudding. Using a spoon, swirl the meringue until small peaks form. Those peaks will get a toasty light brown in the oven.
Place in the oven for 15-25 minutes, until the top is a nice golden light brown.
