November 24, 2019–A good friend of mine needed some motivation so I bribed him with one of his favorite desserts–Baked Banana Pudding! There are numerous recipes on the inter web. I used one from Alton Brown.
Separate eggs, placing the whites in the bowl and the yolks into a saucepan with sugar, salt, and flour. Whisk the mixture until just combined.
Splash in about 1/4 of the half-and-half and start blending mixture with a whisk. Continue to add the milk and whisk until smooth and the temperature is between 172 and 180 degrees. Remove then custard from the heat then add vanilla extract and cold butter. Whisk until butter dissolves. Set custard aside. Ignore the drink in the back of the picture, it is not part of the recipe 🙂
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and slice the bananas to your preferred thickness and toss with the lemon juice. Spread a small amount of the pudding in the bottom of an oven-safe dish. Cover with a layer of vanilla wafers, followed by a layer of banana slices. Pour 1/3 of the remaining pudding on top of the bananas and repeat, ending with a layer of pudding.
Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the remaining sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form. Spoon the meringue over the warm pudding ensuring you cover the edges.
Bake until the meringue is evenly browned. Remove the pudding from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Let it cool completely before refrigerating. Remaining pudding can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
