Banana Pudding

In a 2 quart pot, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Make sure that there are no lumps in the cornstarch. Stir in the 4 beaten egg yolks until evenly distributed. The mixture may be stiff. Add the half-and-half and the milk. Whisk well to combine. Cook over medium low heat, whisking or stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring until melted before adding the next piece. Stir in the vanilla. Pour pudding into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic wrap evenly against the top of the pudding. This will keep the pudding from developing a “skin” as it cools. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until pudding has chilled thoroughly.

Toast the coconut on a sheet pan in a 325 F oven until golden. Watch carefully, browning happens quickly. When done, set aside to cool.

In a medium sized bowl whip the cream together with the 1 tablespoon sugar until it reaches preferred consistency. I like my whipped cream with a little body, not too soft, but definitely not to the butter stage.

To Assemble:
For 8 individual servings: In 8 small, individual serving dishes, layer the following: coarsely crumbled Vanilla Wafers, sliced bananas, pudding, crumbled Vanilla Wafers, sliced bananas, pudding. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of toasted coconut. Cover and allow to rest in refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours or up to overnight.

For a single dish: Do not crumble the Vanilla Wafers. Leave them whole. Place a layer of whole Vanilla Wafers on the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch dish. Add a layer of 1/2 of the sliced bananas. Cover with half of the pudding. Repeat layers: Vanilla Wafers, bananas, pudding. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Cover and allow to rest in refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours or up to overnight.

Notes:

For smooth pudding: Blending the ingredients together prior to starting the cooking process will help insure a smoother end product. Stirring constantly is important. Don’t leave the pudding unattended or else it will burn and/or be lumpy. The cooking process won’t take more than about 10-15 minutes. The time actually goes quite quickly. My pudding only took 11 well spent minutes.

About cooling the pudding: As pudding cools it forms a “skin” on top. This skin cannot be mixed back into the pudding with good results. The pudding will be lumpy and will have rubbery particles from the skin. To avoid a skin forming, place the plastic wrap right against the warm pudding and up the inside of the bowl. Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from recipes by Paula Deen and Alton Brown.