The Big Mistake You're Making With Banana Pudding From Scratch
Banana pudding has been a staple in households across the United States ever since it was first popularized in the late 1800s with a recipe published in Good Housekeeping. An Americanized take on the classic English trifle, the traditional Southern dessert features layers of creamy pudding, fresh banana slices, and either chunks of sponge cake or, more commonly, vanilla wafers. Nabisco even started publishing a recipe for banana pudding on the back of its box in the 1940s, cementing Nilla Wafers as the cookie to use for the dessert.
While you can easily make banana pudding at home with pudding from a box, you can also make it completely from scratch with just a few additional steps. However, there are some key things you should know to ensure your pudding turns out the perfect creamy texture. Here's what some bloggers say makes the difference between a so-so pudding and an amazing one.
Whisk and whisk ... and then whisk some more
The secret to making the perfect banana pudding is constantly whisking your pudding at every stage of the process. As soon as you combine all of your ingredients in a sauce pan on the stove, you should start whisking and continue to do so constantly. The blogger behind Averie Cooks compares it to making gravy, cautioning that "you'll become best friends with your whisk for about a half hour." Not only does Small Town Woman note that if you don't continue whisking, an unpleasant skin can form on your pudding, but Averie adds that said skin can then turn into chunks floating throughout your pudding (and nobody wants that!).
One note, however. It's okay to pause every few seconds — in fact, it's recommended so you have a chance to see if your mixture is bubbling, which is when you'll want to reduce the heat (via Life, Love, and Sugar).