If there is one thing I can’t make in the kitchen, it’s banana pudding. Every time I try, it turns out to be a failure.
You’d think I could master something as simple as banana pudding, which only requires one to layer a few simple ingredients — bananas, Nilla wafers, and pudding. Alas, I cannot.
Last time I made it with boxed banana-flavored pudding and it came out tasting like banana Runts candies. This time I tried making my own pudding, and it came out brown, grainy, and looking like apple sauce.
Though the pudding portion didn’t look right after cooking on the stove top for 20 minutes, I forged ahead and assembled the banana pudding anyway – bananas, Nilla wafers and all. I believed something magical just might happen if I allowed the assembled banana pudding sit in the fridge.
Silly me. After a night in the refrigerator, the pudding was still a grainy mush with the texture of cooked squash. Arg. Just stamp me with a big, fat “FAIL” stamp. Nothing makes me angrier than a failed cooking project.
I got the recipe from the Charlotte Observer a few months ago. It’s titled “The Best-Ever Banana Pudding.” Mine turned out to be “The Worst-Ever Banana Pudding.” What did I do wrong?
Courtesy of the Charlotte Observer
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (11- or 12-ounce) can evaporated milk, shaken well
3/4 cup water
3 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter
1 (12-ounce) box vanilla wafers
4 to 6 ripe bananas
Topping: Whipped topping, 2 cups heavy cream beaten with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, or about 1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
WHISK together brown sugar, flour, evaporated milk, water, eggs, salt and vanilla in a heavy saucepan or the top of a double boiler over a little simmering water. Add butter and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter melts.
REDUCE heat to low and cook slowly, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and just starts to look a little curdled. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
PLACE a layer of vanilla wafers in the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Slice the bananas into rounds and place a layer of rounds on top of the wafers. Top with about half the pudding mixture, spreading to completely seal the wafers and bananas. Repeat layers, ending with pudding. Refrigerate until chilled.
TOP with whipped topping, sweetened whipped cream or cookie crumbs.
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 1, 2010.
Poor Priscilla. We (the family) make ours with instant vanilla pudding (not banana flavored) and fold in half a tub of C.W. whipped topping. Your milk may have curdled on the stove. Good luck!
My family uses the same recipe as April’s. I’ve tried to make it myself once … it was yummy, although it didn’t turn out that pretty.
Why don’t you try the recipe on the back of the Nilla Wafers box? It is my preferred method.
http://www.nabiscoworld.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipe_id=55431
I’m not sure what you did wrong but the pudding shouldn’t have been runny or grainy after the cooking time.
I do it the simple way and it comes out great. Use Instant VANILLA pudding. Have your bananas sliced and laid out in advance because you have to work fast. Even have your vanilla wafers laid out and ready to go. The pudding sets up in a matter of minutes.
Thanks for all the Banana Pudding suggestions! I’ll do it the instant pudding way next time. 😀
You and I are having the same problem. My pudding did not turn out brown but it is grainy beats me .. I have tried and tried and I know there is a secret somewhere.. but no one is sharing that secret. LOL
I would say the brown sugar in your recipe might be the cause of the color. I only use brown sugar in butterscotch pudding.. I still can’t figure out the grainy unless its the salt or the flour but I sifted mine it still turned out grainy.. I didn’t use evaporated milk because its too rich I used whole milk and heavy whipping cream which I thought would get rid of the grainy but no such luck.. I am totally stumped.
The brown sugar & evaporated milk may be your issue.. the recipe I use calls for 4 cups of milk, 1 1/3 cup of sugar, 6 TBS of cornstarch, 1/2 TSP of salt, 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks. Heat all of that over medium heat & almost constantly be whisking it till it’s bubbly and thick. I messed mine up today not letting it get thick enough. Then when it’s thick and bubbly, melt 4 TBS of butter and add 4 TSPs of vanilla extract. Let cool in the fridge until room temperature. Then construct it, put cool whip on top, and put in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Best banana pudding ever.
VANILLA pudding not banana, instant or stove top or homemade all work so maybe start instant and work up. Then what I do Is subtract 1 c milk from the box directions on pudding replacing with the can of SWEETENED CONDENSED MILk, not evaporated. In a different bowl whip 4 cups heavy cream till soft adding 4 tbsp confectioners sugar and 4 tbsp vanilla till stuff peaks. Fold half that onto your pudding and layer bananas, wafers and pudding untill it’s gone then top with remaining whipped cream And you’ll never screw it up again, but I don’t suggest just swapping things and making alterations just because your afraid it would make it “to rich” when your clearly trying to make the pudding because you like it so something must Ballance out the richness you fear. Or at least stick to whatever your following untill you can successfully reproduce that , then tweak it if needed. But it’s perfect I promise lol