Lynsley's Banana Pudding

I typically go with tried and true recipes. As I'm becoming a better cook, I'm getting more inventive, but I still tend like a sure thing. There aren't many creations I consider mine. This is one of them, hence the title.

Establishing the "best" banana pudding is far too subjective. Some people like their cookies soft, others like their cookies crispy. Some want lots of bananas, others just want a few. But after numerous rounds of taste testings and experimenting with friends, I will say this: My banana pudding kicks ass.

Due credit: the heart of this is the homemade vanilla cream pudding, a recipe I clipped from Southern Living in the late 90s. But the rest of it has come together through experimenting over the years and taking the best of various recipes.

Lynsley’s Banana Pudding
Ingredients
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 package Lorna Doone cookies
4 ripe bananas
Vanilla Cream Pudding

Begin by making the Vanilla Cream Pudding:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
3 egg yolks
3 cups whole milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine first three ingredients (sugar, cornstarch, salt) in a medium-heavy saucepan.

Separate the three egg yolks.

Whisk together egg yolks and milk (first add a little bit of milk to the eggs and completely incorporate, then add a little more, etc.).

Gradually add egg and milk mixture to sugar mixture in the same fashion (add a little bit of liquid and completely incorporate, add a little more, etc.). Whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly (should take about 10 minutes). Boil, whisking constantly, one minute. (Do not boil longer than one minute or the cornstarch will begin to break down.)

Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla.

Pour into a bowl; place plastic wrap directly over the surface of warm pudding so it won't form a skin. Cool 30 minutes. (If just eating as pudding, then refrigerate for two hours. If making banana pudding, follow instructions to layer after pudding cools for at least 30-45 minutes. If you layer the hot pudding, it will melt your whipped cream. Do not stir the cooled cooked pudding; gently fold it from your bowl to the dish when you make the layers.)

Whip one pint of heavy whipping cream with beaters in a bowl. (Cream whips best if beaters and bowl are very cold.) Layer Lorna Doone cookies in bottom of trifle dish. Top with sliced bananas.

Spread layer of vanilla pudding on top. Add layer of whipped cream. Repeat layers as desired.

Chill for several hours, and enjoy!