Banana Pudding (with gelatin!)

There’s nothing like a husband to give you a challenge.

At least in this case, it was banana pudding!!

Since the day I got back from my blogger tour, Frank has been beggin me to make banana pudding again. The problem was, the last time I made it, we both got the worst belly aches, and I haven’t made it since.

The culprit? Flour.

My old, pre-real food banana pudding recipe uses flour to thicken the custard. So how to make pudding sans-flour was the challenge!

Sure, I could look up a flourless banana pudding recipe, but that defeats the challenge! So I opened my cupboards, got a pen and paper to write down the recipe, and got ready to experiment.

Well, need-less-to-say, the pudding turned out great! Which is why I’m sharing the recipe with you. :)

Banana Pudding

3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks (reserve the whites in a bowl)
6 TBSP butter (preferably grass fed – buy here)
1 cup of cream or milk (find raw milk here)
1 tsp vanilla (buy here)
5 TBSP maple syrup (buy here)
1/2 tsp sea salt (buy here)
3-4 tsp grassfed gelatin (buy here)

2-3 just-ripe bananas
Vanilla Cookies, optional (buy here)

In a bowl, whisk 3 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks. Set aside. Now, measure out a cup of cream or milk and add the vanilla to it. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat, and add in the maple syrup. When the butter has melted, add the milk, and whisk in the eggs. Add in a pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavor. Keep whisking as the mixture heats back up. The liquid will thicken as you stir. This part takes roughly 5-7 minutes. When the liquid has thickened (it won’t be *exactly* pudding consistency yet, but it will be thicker), remove pudding from heat. Now, whisk in the gelatin ONE tsp at a time. Take care to not get lumps. When all the gelatin is mixed in, set the pudding aside.

Now, I did a layered banana pudding. If you’re omitting the cookies, then you can just mash 2 ripe bananas and add them to the pudding. BUT, if you’re doing a layer pudding (like me), follow these next few steps.

Cut up your bananas into thin slices, about a 1/8″ thick.
Layer the bottom of a round dish with the cookies. Then alternate layers with the pudding, banana slices, cookies, etc.

AND because I’ve already had questions about it—NO, I did NOT make the vanilla cookies from scratch, nor were they gluten free. They were some legit “Back to Nature” brand Madagascar Vanilla Cookies.

[box]Ingredients: WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, PALM OIL, SEA SALT, BAKING POWDER (MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, BAKING SODA), GROUND VANILLA BEANS, VANILLA EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVOR.[/box]

We buy prepared packaged food maybe once every three months. MAYBE. So I’m not going to feel bad about not making vanilla wafers from scratch!! This was supposed to be a quick pudding, not an all-day project.

Remember those egg whites we reserved? Whip them with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 TBSP maple syrup until they form stiff peaks. Then smooth them onto the top of the layered pudding.

Bake for 12 minutes on 375˚F, or until the egg whites have browned on top.

Enjoy!

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