Meringue Topped Banana Pudding

About a year ago, I baked the brown sugar pound cake from Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories, and I mentioned that there were several other things I wanted to try from that book. One of those other things was the meringue topped banana pudding, and just a short eleven months and twenty-something days later, I did finally try it. I’ve made banana pudding several times before and it’s a favorite of mine and Kurt’s, but this one was different because of the meringue on top. I usually serve it with a topping of whipped cream, and that’s how we see it served at restaurants too. I’d never tasted banana pudding with meringue on top. The pudding itself, as usual, is just a basic, vanilla pudding. Every time I make a pudding or pastry cream, I wonder why I don’t do so more often. I taste it warm from the saucepan just after the vanilla has been added, and every time, I marvel at how good that is. The lovely pudding is layered with sliced bananas and vanilla wafers, and I did not bake homemade vanilla wafers for this. I followed the recipe which suggested using a twelve ounce box. However, I did seek out an organic brand.

The pudding was prepared with four egg yolks, and the four whites from those eggs were used for the meringue. Pudding was poured over a layer of vanilla wafers and sliced bananas in a one and a half quart casserole dish, and then the layers were repeated two more times. This filled the dish to the very top edge, and I should have been smart enough to realize it was a bit too full. The fluffy meringue was spread on top with lots of swirls and curls, and it went into a 350 F oven for about twelve minutes. Luckily, I had placed the casserole dish on a baking sheet, because the pudding bubbled up and spilled over a bit here and there. Next time, I’ll eat a little more pudding right after it’s cooked so as to keep it just below the top edge of the dish. I let it cool on a rack for an hour and then refrigerated it overnight.

I have to say, I didn’t miss the whipped cream. I like it that way too, but the meringue was different and light and just as nice. With meringue, you have the browned, near-crust on top and then the airy, pillowy texture underneath. In the book, there’s a warning that while you can refrigerate leftovers it doesn’t hold up well. I can tell you that’s true. After scooping out two servings for dessert, I placed the dish back in the refrigerator. The next day, it was a little runny and not so attractive. The side opposite of the runny stuff was still delicious, but serving this sooner rather than later is ideal. One thought for next time is to create individual servings which could remain refrigerated for a couple of days with no scooped-out areas for runniness.