Banana pudding improvements?

[Matthew.Taylor]

So we had family game night tonight. Went pretty well, and I brought some banana pudding. Nothing fancy, instant pudding, Nilla wafers (trier to make them from scratch, but it didn’t go too well.), banana slices and a baked meringue topping. Tasted great! But I would like to kick it up a notch in the future. Any thoughts?

[AAQuesada]

Nilla wafers have already been perfected, just buy them. Then focus on the pudding part, that's the part where you can make a big improvement with minimal effort. Stella Parks is a good place to start for Classic Americana I know she has a recipe in her book Bravetart but here is a recipe of hers I found online

 

https://www.seriouseats.com/warm-and-creamy-banana-pudding

 

Another option is to steal the filling from Christina Tossi of Momofuku Milk Bar fame. 

\http://diaryofastudentgourmet.blogspot.com/2014/10/momofuku-milk-bar-banana-cream-pie.html

[blue_dolphin]

There’s a local take-out BBQ place that always offers a layered banana pudding. Given the cost of ingredients, and the fact that everyone gets it, I suspect they make more profit from that than the meats 🤣

They use a Biscoff-type cookie and I really prefer that to a ‘Nilla wafer.

My brother uses Pepperidge Farm Chessmen. I like them better than ‘Nilla wafers but not as much as the Biscoff flavors. 
 

 

Edited Sunday at 11:21 PM by blue_dolphin
To add photo (log)

[pastrygirl]

add a bit of vanilla, rum, lime zest, or caramel

[curls]

I recommend making your own banana pudding, truly makes a huge difference. I like Alton Brown’s banana pudding recipe. I use his pudding recipe, Peppridge Farm chessman cookies, and homemade whipped cream.  Biscoff and vanilla wafers are also great for the cookie component.

https://altonbrown.com/wprm_print/refrigerated-banana-pudding

 

For banana liquor, I used 99 Bananas 99 proof, to taste — used much less than the recipe called for.

 

Edited Sunday at 09:53 PM by curls (log)

[donk79]

I think the only truly from scratch banana pudding that I have made is using Tosi's recipe linked above.  It is certainly a notch above the standard box I am accustomed to being loaded over Nilla Wafers.  It also is about 5 notches richer and one notch in the belt heavier.  I recommend trying it, but know the portions do not need to be large!

Edited Sunday at 11:10 PM by donk79
Typo (log)

[MaryIsobel]

I have never had banana pudding, probably because A) It is not a thing you find in these parts and B) I have a strong aversion to artifical banana flavour. No doubt due to the fact that someone thought that fake banana flavour would be a good addition to oral penicillin when I was a kid (that did not go well.) However, one of my daughters is crazy about anything banana - real or artificial. You may remember me asking how to get the most banana flavour in her banana wedding cake with banana filling! Anyway, I'm sure she would love banana pudding and she is down with influenza A at the moment, so I'll ask her if it appeals.

[Matthew.Taylor]

16 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

I have never had banana pudding, probably because A) It is not a thing you find in these parts and B) I have a strong aversion to artifical banana flavour. No doubt due to the fact that someone thought that fake banana flavour would be a good addition to oral penicillin when I was a kid (that did not go well.) However, one of my daughters is crazy about anything banana - real or artificial. You may remember me asking how to get the most banana flavour in her banana wedding cake with banana filling! Anyway, I'm sure she would love banana pudding and she is down with influenza A at the moment, so I'll ask her if it appeals.

Banana pudding shouldn’t have ANY artificial banana flavor in it! It’s made of layers of vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers, and slices of actual bananas, all topped with either whipped cream or baked meringue! It’s basically a trifle.