Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Recipe
Though I’ve been back from New York City for just over a month now, my heart (and stomach) are still stuck there! So I’m continuing my series of recipes inspired by NYC’s best dessert shops and bakeries, and I’m excited to present to you this recipe for Magnolia Bakery’s famous, fluffy and whipped original banana pudding! There is a Magnolia Bakery by The Grove in Los Angeles as well but what beats being able to make this at home?!
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (or 2.5 tbsp of cornstarch)
3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3-4 large bananas, sliced
1 box of Nilla Wafers (graham crackers would work great too)
Recipe
Heat about 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan on medium heat. When it begins to simmer, place a heatproof bowl larger than the saucepan atop the saucepan so that it sits on top without the bottom of the bowl touching the water in the saucepan. This is a double boiler setup.
In the heatproof bowl, add the sugar, flour, salt, and eggs. Whisk together.
Add a couple tablespoons of the milk and whisk until incorporated into a paste. Then add the rest of the milk in a thin stream while stirring. This will prevent any clumping.
Let cook for 12-14 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
Turn off the heat and remove the bowl from the saucepan. Stir in the vanilla.
Pop this bowl of pudding into the fridge to let it chill until it has set completely.
Pour the heavy whipping cream into a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and beat until there are no more peaks because it’s so thick that it’s beautifully clumped together (1:57 in the video)!
If your pudding hasn’t chilled completely yet, put this whipped cream bowl in the fridge and wash some of your dishes.
Once the pudding has chilled completely, you’re going to use a spatula fold it into the whipped cream, 1/4 cup at a time. Do not beat or whisk it vigorously at all! I have made this mistake and it results in thick banana cream rather than a fluffy whipped pudding. This is how you fold it together.
In a pan about 2-3 inches deep (I used a 9x13 baking pan), begin layering—pudding, wafers, bananas, pudding, wafers, bananas, pudding. Begin and end with the pudding; 7 layers in total. If you’re going to present the pudding in the pan, I recommend “garnishing” it with crushed Nilla wafers (2 should suffice) at this time.
Seal with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.
And there you have it! Your very own remake of Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding!
If the over-ripened/brown bananas don’t bother you, this pudding should last about a week in the fridge. Mine didn’t last that long because it got eaten up!