Recipe For Banana Pudding

Mama puts a little twist on her recipe for banana pudding by using graham cracker crumbs for a deliciously sweet touch for a bottom crust!




For the Crust:

2 1/2 cups of Graham Crack Crumbs
2/3 cup of butter, melted
1/4 cup of sugar
vanilla wafers

For the filling:

1 cup of sugar
6 tablespoon of corn starch
1/2 teaspoon of salt
4 cups of milk
6 egg yolks, slightly beaten (keep the egg white for the meringue topping)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of vanilla
4 medium bananas

For the topping:

6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 cup of sugar

In a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish, mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Line the sides with vanilla wafers. Set aside.

In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the milk one cup at a time. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir 1 minute. Gradually pour half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, stir. Pour that mixture back into the saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Set aside.

Slice the bananas on top of the graham cracker crust. Pour the hot pudding over the bananas. Put a layer of vanilla wafers on top of the pudding. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer until it forms soft peaks. Add the vanilla. Continue beating gradually adding the sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Spoon on top of the vanilla wafers and spread evenly making sure that the meringue topping touches the vanilla wafers on the sides (this will keep the topping from "shrinking" away from the side).

Bake until meringue browns (about 15 minutes).

I hope you enjoy Mama's Banana Pudding Recipe!