Southern Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

50 vanilla wafers
2 large bananas, cut into ¼-inch slices

¾ cup heavy cream, chilled
¼ cup powdered sugar

Method:

Prepare a casserole dish (anything above one quart will do, and non-stick cooking spray is optional).

In a medium sauce pan briskly whisk together the milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg, and egg yolk. Once well combined place the pan over low to medium heat, being sure to continuously whisk (helps to avoid clumps and eggs cooking) until thick and bubbling.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla extract; whisking until completely melted. Pour the custard through a strainer into a separate bowl (just as a last measure to remove any cooked eggs and clumps, trust me, I just learned this and its a hell of a baking tip) then cover with plastic wrap to cool briefly in the fridge.

In the prepared casserole dish begin your layering. Some people prefer bananas first, I start with place of the vanilla wafer cookies to act as a crust like any pie would, then top with a layer of the sliced bananas. Pour over 1/4 of the custard and spread to the edges. Repeat this process three more times then top the last layer of custard with a layer of vanilla wafers. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least four hours.

Whip the heavy cream with the vanilla and the powdered sugar until it reaches soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the chilled pudding. Top with crushed vanilla wafer cookies if you like.