Grandma's Banana Pudding

Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

Grandma's old-fashioned banana has layers of vanilla wafers, vanilla custard, and banana slices under a baked meringue topping.

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated, divided
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter
1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers, divided
4 medium bananas, sliced, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
5 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2 Make the pudding: Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl. Set egg whites aside for meringue.
3 Beat egg yolks in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar mixture alternately with milk and vanilla, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add butter; continue stirring until thickened to a pudding-like consistency, 5 to 7 minutes more.
4 Line the bottom of a baking dish with 1/2 of the wafers. Layer 1/2 of the banana slices over wafers and cover with 1/2 of the pudding. Repeat layers once more.
5 Make the meringue: Beat reserved egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl, gradually adding cream of tartar, until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla. Spoon meringue over pudding.
6 Bake in the preheated oven until meringue browns, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool before serving.