Four Twists to a Southern Favorite: Banana Pudding

For this month’s post from our Dessert expert Atlanta’s own Tamara Eckles I just knew it was going to be something highlighting Georgia peaches.  I have peaches on the brain these days since the first appearance of  New Jersey Peaches this past week.  But I was just as delighted to see instead she was talking about Banana Pudding. This dessert is a classic loved by young and old and is always in season.  Not too mention this is also my husband’s favorite dessert outside of his ice cream addiction that is. ~ Heather Watkins Jones

Summer is in full swing and if you live in the South like I do, you don’t want to turn on your oven if you can help it. So what’s a dessert lover to do? Turn to one of the South’s favorite classic desserts, banana pudding. Banana pudding is not only a favorite southern dessert, but it’s one that hits the spot on a hot summer day when it’s eaten cold, right out of the refrigerator.

Banana pudding is akin to a trifle or layered dessert. The layering typically includes a combination of vanilla wafers, bananas and vanilla pudding. I’m  going to add some flair to this classic dessert by sharing 4 ways to make a basic banana pudding stand out.  Now, I hope I don’t ruffle any feathers by not making my own pudding, but let’s face it, it’s hot and the best of us take a short cut every now and then so let’s give ourselves a break! Trust me, you won’t miss out on any decadence with this recipe.

Four Twists:

• Ditch the vanilla wafer and opt for chessman cookies or butter cookies
• Add another flavor to your banana pudding like, peanut butter (put one to two tablespoons in the vanilla pudding mixture)
• Serve your banana pudding in mason jars
• Layer your banana pudding with chocolate and vanilla pudding mix (chocolate and banana are great combinations!)

Prepare the vanilla pudding per the directions on the box. Fold in the sour cream and the whipped topping. Place a layer of cookies on the bottom of your trifle bowl or whatever bowl you are using to display the banana pudding. Layer with cut bananas, then pudding. Repeat until all of the pudding has been used. Place in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Happy eating!

The Blacker The Berry Food Baking and Dessert expert Tamara Eckles is a self-taught baker with over 20 years of experience and founder of The Dessert Sweet “The new destination for all things sweet”.

Tagged as: Southern Banana Pudding, Tamara Eckles, The Dessert Sweet