Roasted Banana Pudding

My good friend Lyndsay celebrated her birthday this past weekend. She loves banana desserts, so I decided to make homemade banana pudding (a.k.a. nanna puddin') for her party. There are definitely more steps involved in making homemade pudding than whipping up a box of Jell-O, but in my opinion all the extra effort is entirely worth it for the real banana flavor, which in this recipe is further enhanced by roasting. And since you can make this recipe with underripe bananas, there's no need to buy them ahead of time.

Roasted Banana Pudding (from Cook’s Country)
Serves 12

Pudding Ingredients
7 slightly underripe bananas
1 1/2 c. sugar
8 large egg yolks
6 tbsp. cornstarch
6 c. half and half
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 (12 oz.) box of vanilla wafers

Whipped Topping Ingredients
1 c. heavy cream
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Roast bananas. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 325°. Place 3 unpeeled, (bright yellow) bananas on a baking sheet. Bake until skins are completely black, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 min.

2. Meanwhile, whisk 1/2 c. sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch in medium bowl until smooth. Bring half and half, remaining sugar, and salt to simmer over medium heat in large sauce pan or dutch oven. Slowly pour 1/2 cup of the half and half mixture into yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent your yolks from curdling. Slowly whisk tempered yolk mixture into the saucepan. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and large bubbles appear at surface, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

3. Process warm peeled bananas and 2 tbsp. of lemon juice in a food processor until smooth, then add pudding to the processor. If your food processor bowl holds less than 11 cups, just process half of the pudding. Transfer pudding and banana mixture into a large bowl, whisking in the rest of the pudding if necessary. Cover, placing plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding.  Refrigerate until slightly cool, about 45 min, or longer if desired.

4. When you are ready to assemble, cut the remaining bananas into 1/4″ slices and toss in a bowl with remaining lemon juice. Spoon one quarter of pudding into a 3-quart trifle dish and top with a layer of cookies, a layer of sliced bananas, and then another layer of cookies. Repeat twice, ending with pudding. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate until wafers have softened, at least 8 hrs. or up to 2 days.

5. To prepare with whipped topping, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in an electric mixer on medium until stiff peaks form, about 2 min. Top banana pudding with whipped cream and serve.

If you don't have a trifle dish like this, you could definitely serve your pudding in a large bowl instead, or in individual cups.