A Southern Classic

I forget sometimes that not everyone grew up in the South and is therefore not privy to our bounty of Southern classics.  It's a shame some have never tasted a delicious spoonful of grits, or greens, or soup beans.  This coming from a girl who lived on grilled cheese as a child.  Things have changed and I fully embrace my Southern roots now, except maybe chitterlings.

One of my coworkers requested banana pudding for her birthday treat.  Being a Yankee, she had never had banana pudding.  Can you really call yourself an American?  

I served it to her warm, with fresh whipped cream.  I know some purists out there would say you have to top it with meringue but I don't like the stuff and luckily the birthday girl doesn't either.  

She liked it.  Then again, what's not to like.  It's healthy too, right?  It does have real bananas in it after all.  I served it in these adorable mason jars for the true Southern feel.  

I'm linking up to Katie at Chocolate Covered Katie.  She's doing an all out dessert post/link up at the end of May and I can't wait.  What could be better than a post about sweets?  A post that links to a kajillion other desserts!

Banana Pudding with Whipped Cream

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
3 cups whole milk
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
3 T. butter
1 T. pure vanilla extract
3 cups vanilla wafers (I used every drop of 1 entire box)
4 ripe bananas, sliced (not real brown but not green either - somewhere in the middle)

For the whipped topping:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla
3 T. sugar

In a medium saucepan, combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt.  Whisk in milk.  Over medium heat, cook until the mixture begins to thicken.  Once it boils (and has gotten thick), boil for 1 minute then remove from heat. 

Whisk eggs and egg yolks in a separate bowl.  Slowly add 1 spoonful at a time of the hot pudding.  After you've added several spoonfuls - this is called tempering the mixture - slowly add the egg mixture back into the pot and return to the heat.  Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook the mixture 1-2 minutes or until thick and bubbly. 

Remove the pan from the heat and add in the butter and vanilla. 

Depending upon your desired dish, layer the vanilla wafers on the bottom, followed by a layer of sliced bananas.  Pour 1/2 of the hot pudding on top and repeat layers once more. 

To make the whipped topping, put the COLD whipping cream in a metal or glass bowl (I usually stick mine in the fridge first to let it get cool).  With an electric mixer, begin beating the whipping cream.  After about 20 seconds, add in the vanilla and sugar.  Continue whipping until you reach your desired consistency.  You want to make sure it's thick enough because it will run a bit once you put it on the hot pudding. 

Top the cookie/banana/pudding mixture with the whipped cream and top with crushed vanilla wafers.