Sitty’s Banana Pudding

When brainstorming the various French and Southern sweets I wanted to feature on the blog, banana pudding was at the top of the list. It’s one of those quintessential Southern desserts - sweet, comforting, and mmm mmm good. Those layers of vanilla pudding, bananas, Nilla wafers and meringue topping encourage you to overeat because you just want “one more little bite” - or another serving if you’re like me.

Last week a bunch of bananas were staring at me from the counter, waiting to be transformed into good old fashioned banana pudding. But I didn’t have a recipe yet. I knew I wanted to make the dessert from scratch - not the Jell-O instant pudding and Cool Whip version. It had to be homemade, with the exception of the Nilla wafers. Those were a must. I even bought two boxes of wafers. One box was dedicated to the dessert, and the other box was strictly for dunking in milk as a nighttime snack.

Shortly after losing the banana staring contest, my aunt walked through the front door. She was bringing my kids back home after they spent the afternoon playing at her house. In her hand was a container of banana pudding. How’s that for coincidence? Come to find out, it was my Sitty’s (her mom’s) recipe! (Side note: Sitty is an Arabic word for grandmother.) 

Ya’ll, I live for these moments of serendipity. Here’s a little backstory as to why this banana pudding recipe is particularly special to me.

I never knew my Dad’s parents. His father passed away when he was a kid, so his mom was a single-parent raising him and his two sisters in Natchez, Mississippi. She passed away before I was born. But through stories, I’ve learned that Sitty loved to write, was a loyal fan of the Fighting Irish and (judging by her recipes) a good cook. I make her meatloaf about every few weeks, and anyone who’s had it asks for the recipe. So when that container of banana pudding came into my house, it was like Sitty was watching over me the entire time and put her recipe into my hands. My aunt texted me a picture of the recipe later that evening. Sitty had typed it out on her typewriter, and it was stained with age. It was perfect. 

The following evening we grilled chicken for dinner, so all I had to do was prepare the dessert! That’s one of my favorite things about summer. Being able to grill outside gives me a break from cooking and more time for baking the fun stuff. 

Sitty’s banana pudding was delicious! And, although biased to this recipe, I wouldn’t highlight a dessert on my blog that I didn’t think was worthy of making. Creamy vanilla pudding, bananas married with Nilla wafers and a fluffy meringue topping - it doesn’t get better than this. Actually, now that I say that, I thought the banana pudding was even better the next night. The wafers had time to get a little soggy as they sat with the pudding overnight.  Eat this banana pudding warm out of the oven or cold.

I love adding another one of Sitty’s dishes to my repertoire. With each one, I feel like I get to know her a little better. I hear she also made a killer bread pudding, and I intend to get my hands on that recipe next! 

Sitty’s Banana Pudding Recipe
Note: I did alter the egg amount, so it’s a little different than the recipe pictured above.

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup of granulated sugar
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
4 eggs: 4 egg yolks for the pudding and 4 egg whites for the meringue
2 Cups of whole milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 box of Nilla wafers
5-6 ripe bananas, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine 1/2 Cup of sugar, flour and salt in the top of a double broiler. Mix in the 4 egg yolks. Stir in the milk. Cook these items, uncovered, over boiling water. Stir constantly until it’s thickened to the consistency of pudding. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Spread a small amount of the pudding onto the bottom of a 1 1/2 qt baking dish. Cover with a single layer of wafers. Top with a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of the pudding over the bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and pudding; makes about three layers. Set aside.

Beat 4 egg whites stiff, but not dry. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Pile on top of pudding, covering the entire surface. Bake for 5 minutes, or until delicately browned. Serve chilled.