Banana Pudding

Banana Pudding brings a smile to my face and fond memories of childhood. I remember the boxed banana pudding and always loved it. In later years, I've had Banana Pudding at lots of church dinners and funeral meals. It's a classic favorite around these parts!
I found this smooth, creamy recipe at Epicurious a few days ago and thought it sounded good and it had good reviews. It takes very little time to make, but needs to be refrigerated about 4 hours before eating. The recipe calls for banana liqueur or banana extract, and I couldn't find either one. So I just used vanilla and mixed the bananas in with the pudding so the banana flavor still came through just fine. My daughter didn't care for the topping, but my husband and I LOVED this pudding with this cinammony, crunchy topping! The pudding is smooth and silky and the crushed topping is the crowning touch. Vanilla wafers are crushed and baked with cinnamon and make this pudding a very special, addictive treat. You gotta try this!

BANANA PUDDING
from Epicurious, and the cookbook DamGoodSweets-Sweets to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style

5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons banana liqueur, or 1 teaspoon banana flavoring-I didn't use this
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas

In a medium bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt together until creamy. It will be stiff at first and then begin to get more liquefied. Heat the milk in a sauce pan over medium heat until it begins to boil. Small bubbles will appear at the surface and the milk is ready. Begin whisking the egg yolk mixture, and then pour in a small amount of hot milk and continue whisking. Add another small amount of milk and whisk the whole time to keep it from curdling. Continue this process until all the hot milk is incorporated into the egg yolk mixture. Wash the saucepan, then pour the pudding back into the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking the whole time. Using a spoon be sure to stir in the corners of the pan as this pudding will thicken there and cause lumps. This pudding cooks quickly! When done, pour the pudding into a clean bowl and stir in the butter, vanilla and banana flavoring. Lay plastic wrap right on the surface of the pudding to keep it from forming a skin. Refrigerate 4 hours before serving. To serve, cut up bananas in 4 serving dishes, top with banana pudding and then some of the crumbs. Then enjoy this cool additive treat and wish you had made more!

TOPPING
1 cup, about 15, vanilla wafers
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar- I only used 1 teaspoon and it was plenty
a pinch of salt
Coarsely crush the cookies in a bag with a rolling pin. In a bowl mix the crumbs, cinnamon, sugar and salt together. Stir in the butter and bake on a baking sheet for 6 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from pan and cool. Sprinkle over pudding before serving. We love this crisp topping; it really raises Banana Pudding to another level!

NOTE: I did have trouble with a few lumps. The pudding cooked so quickly and it got very thick in the corners of the pan. So stir continuously.