Most of you read my post Dan Taylor’s Determination last week about my Nana. When several of my cousins saw it, they asked for many of her recipes which I promised to scan and send to them this weekend. But many things happened last week and I was unable to do so. I spent the weekend making all Mr. Picky eater’s favorites because he deserves to be spoiled a bit – more about that in another post – so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and make one of his favorites while ensuring my cousins had Nana’s most-requested dessert for their own family Thanksgiving celebration. This pudding was often the object of stealth recon missions to ascertain position in the kitchen for later distract and grab attempts by the adults in the family! We all love it and Top Girl was smart enough at a very young age to sit down with Nana and copy down all her recipes. That was very difficult to do because Nana didn’t measure much, however she was persistent – as you will see – and made sure that all of us could one day make our family favorites if we were so inclined. I must confess, Top Girl and Rocket were over today and it was Top Girl who made the main ingredient while I took pictures, and then I put the whole thing together.
Here are the ingredients you will need:
***Note: We have the spoon that Nana used to “measure” her flour and other things – it is a serving spoon so she told Top Girl to use 2 heaping tablespoons of flour (pix below) but since no one else has that spoon, Top Girl measured her heaping tablespoons and it came to 6 level tablespoons of flour***
1 ½ Cups Sugar
6 level Tablespoons flour
1 Can Evaporated Milk
3 Eggs (beaten)
1 Stick unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
In a bowl mix milk, eggs, and butter. Pour into double boiler.
Bring water in double boiler to a simmer, stirring often.
In another bowl mix sugar and flour, mixing well. Pour dry mixture slowly into the wet and mix with a whisk.
Stir often until it starts to thicken then add vanilla and let it continue to thicken until the back of spoon holds pudding.
Then cool for about 30 minutes and begin putting together the banana pudding. First cover the bottom of the dish with vanilla wafers.
Next, spoon some pudding on and spread it around.
Slice a banana and cover pudding for the third layer followed by another layer of cookies.
Continue doing until you come to top of dish ending with the pudding layer, although some people end with bananas and put whipped topping as final layer but that wouldn’t be my Nana’s pudding so we don’t use that.
Crush some cookies in a bag and sprinkle on top.
Ta-da! In our family, we think of this as, “The Holidays – Served with a Spoon”!
Yum! I’ve never had this until Daniel’s dad made it while we were in Maine this summer. It’s pretty delicious. He used a microwave pudding recipe, so I’m definitely going to have to try yours! Yuuuum.
It really seems to make a difference when this pudding is made – of course I’m partial to this recipe because I grew up eating it! 🙂
Mmmm wish my nana would make this – it looks so tasty 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you – I didn’t know you had a nana too! Coool!
I love that you have nana’s spoon & the recipe looks fabulous … brings back the family memories 🙂
Thank you – I love nana’s spoon! Top Girl has had her eye on it for years – she’ll just have to wait her turn! 🙂
Oh, man, I love desserts like this. I would stand there with a spoon just for a taste and quickly realize I’d eaten half the batch!
That’s exactly what Mr. Picky eater did! I went to take a shower last evening and he said he would get us a small dish – next thing you know, he’s telling me it was so good and it had been so long there was very little left! And there was!
There is absolutely nothing better! My mom and her siblings always waxed poetic about Grammy’s grape pudding. Mom and I sat down one evening and updated that recipe too. Cudos to Top Girl for getting it in writing from the source! You family will forever be blessed with this heritage recipe.
Mmmmmm…..grape pudding – bet that’s a lot like my nana’s grape dumplings! I’ve been thinking of making those sometime this winter.
So glad that you have the recipe so the family can continue enjoying it. My mother had a certain teacup and spoon that she used for measuring, so her recipes were impossible to follow. She never owned a cookbook or measuring items but everything sure tasted good.
Lillian
lillianscupboard.wordpress.com
doesn’t it? I even snuck a little for breakfast this morning – not on my diet, but I’ll gladly cut back somewhere else!
Delish! This reminds me that I need to follow my mother-in-law around on Thanksgiving and watch and memorize her every move as she makes her world famous rolls that no one can get just right no matter how hard we all try!
We can’t nail her down on exact measurements and she’ll walk away to work on a puzzle or play with a grandkid while it’s mixing… a very hard act to follow- I’d better have my stopwatch handy!
That’s pretty much what Top Girl had to do as well – or we would have never known!
I’m going to have to try your recipe very soon! It sounds delicious!
Love your vintage serving dish!
Thanks Melissa! Got it at a yard sale of course!
My mom always separated the eggs and used the whites for a meringue on top. I think I like your Nana’s way better. Will be doing this next tine we have banana pudding! Ps-that may be very soon, thanks to your post!
Great! I”m sure you will like it too – My husband always does!