Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
SERVES 12
Homemade pudding
1 cup sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
6 large egg yolks (save whites for later)
3 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce box of vanilla wafers
4–6 bananas (depending on size), sliced
Meringue
6 large egg whites (see above)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup sugar
Pudding
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, flour and salt. Add egg yolks and half of the milk. Whisk until smooth. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add remaining milk and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of pan. Slowly pour 1 cup of hot milk into egg yolk mixture and whisk until combined. Transfer the tempered mixture back to the pan with remaining milk. Whisking constantly, cook 10–12 minutes until pudding has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
Meringue
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer), beat egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla. Add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form, about 3–5 minutes.
Assembly
In the bottom of 10-ounce short glasses, spread some pudding. Add a layer of wafers followed by a layer of banana slices and 2 tablespoons pudding. Repeat once and finish the top with 1–2 tablespoons of meringue. Garnish the top with broken vanilla cookies or crumbs.
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