Here’s how to make banana pudding ‘for the angels’

From the banana pudding “leftovers” department, Tommy Tomlinson of Charlotte, N.C., wasn’t finished telling us about the magical powers of this favorite Southern dessert dish when I cut him off last time.

 

His article on banana pudding appeared in Our State magazine a few years ago. Picking up with Tomlinson’s final paragraphs, he wrote: 

“My Uncle Don died… and he had lots of friends. Everybody gathered at the old family house. People parked in the driveway and up in the yard and down the side of the road. They got out of their cars toting food.” 

“When somebody dies in the South, you cook for comfort, and the table in the dining room was covered with fried chicken and mashed potatoes and crowder peas and hot cornbread. As good as it was, most of us just picked at it,” Tomlinson reported. 

“Except for one thing. Somebody brought a huge aluminum pan full of banana pudding. It sat there on the kitchen counter, and you had to walk right by it.” 

“The great gift of the Southern cook is making something wonderful out of nothing special,” Tomlinson said. “For five bucks, you can make a bowl of banana pudding that would cause angels to weep.” 

Ponder the possibilities. 

Famous chef and television personality Paula Deen of Savannah, Ga., invites her followers to try her recipe for “Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding.” Her ingredients list includes French vanilla pudding mix, sweetened condensed milk, regular milk, cream cheese and frozen whipped cream.

 

Instead of adding a layer or so of vanilla wafers, Deen suggests trying Pepperidge Farm Chessman Butter Cookies.

 

Another option to consider are Scottish shortbread cookies. The proprietors of One Hot Mama’s restaurant in Hilton Head, S.C., say shortbread gives “classic banana pudding a rich twist.” 

Charleston, S.C., foodie Kardea Brown, is the creator of the “Delicious Miss Brown” blog. She shared her recipe for “Granny’s Nana Pudding.” It sounds rather devilish. Into the vanilla pudding mix goes half-and-half, sour cream and sweetened condensed milk and a pinch of sea salt.

 

Brown opts for Danish butter cookies rather than vanilla wafers, and her topping combines heavy cream and an ample helping of confectioners’ sugar. 

The kicker is the inclusion of a cup of caramel sauce. Hmmm. That could really complement the banana flavor. 

Shaunda Necole claims to be “an East Coast Southern girl” now based in Las Vegas, Nev., where she writes about soul food recipes handed down from her grandmother in North Carolina. “Homemade banana pudding is Southern comfort food at its finest,” Necole said. “Growing up in the South, I’ve had the pleasure of indulging in this sweet treat all my life.”

 

She is glad to share a tip about how to retard the darkening of bananas once they are peeled and sliced. “Try tossing sliced bananas in lemon juice” for a quick bath “before adding them to the pudding layers,” Necole said. 

If you’re crunched for time, there’s nothing wrong with store-bought banana pudding. 

Popular entertainer Patti LaBelle, now 77, has branched out into the bakery business. Her signature brand of banana pudding is now being produced at Twin Star Bakery in Missouri City, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

 

LaBelle’s baked good products are available through a major discount store chain and can be purchased online. Editors at the PopSugar, a digital media company based in San Francisco, sampled “Patti’s Banana Pudding,” and they gave it a four-star rating.