Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding Cups Recipe

Directions

• Vanilla Pudding
• In a medium-sized saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and table salt. While whisking constantly, drizzle in 1/4 cup of the whole milk. Whisk until smooth.
• Add in beaten egg yolks and the remaining 2 cups of whole milk. Whisk together.
• Heat mixture over medium heat, whisking frequently. Heat until mixture begins to thicken slightly (about 5 minutes).
• Reduce heat to low, and stir constantly with silicone spatula. Take care to scrape sides and bottom of pan frequently as you stir. Cook about another 5 minutes, until mixture thickens up some more.
• Remove pan from heat, and stir butter cubes and vanilla extract into the mixture. Stir until butter is melted and fully incorporated.
• Pour mixture through a mesh metal strainer to separate out any lumps. Cover mixture with plastic wrap, taking care to let the plastic wrap rest directly atop the surface of the pudding (to prevent a skin from forming).
• Refrigerate pudding for several hours until completely chilled. Pudding will thicken further when cold.
• Vanilla Wafer Cookies
• Cut the softened butter into slices. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter slices and vanilla extract. Mix with electric beaters, or use a stand mixer, to combine.
• Continue mixing on medium/low speed while gradually adding the powdered sugar. Keep mixing until everything is combined and fluffy looking.
• While still mixing, add in the eggs.
• Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Sift these dry ingredients through a mesh strainer or flour sifter.
• Gradually add flour mixture into the mixing bowl, while running the mixer continuously. Once all ingredients are fully mixed together and incorporated, stop mixing.
• Using a piping bag or spoons, drop small circles of the batter onto parchment-lined or silicone-lined baking sheets. The circles should only be about 1 inch in diameter. They will flatten and spread while baking.
• Bake in an oven that is preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes (or until cookies turn a light brown in color).
• Once cool enough to handle, transfer cookies onto wire rack to fully cool.
• Salted Caramel Sauce
• Cut the butter into a few slices.
• In a medium-sized saucepan with a heavy bottom, add in the sugar. Place over medium heat, and let sugar start to cook. Stir constantly with a silicone spatula. Over the next few minutes, the sugar will begin to get clumpy.
• Continue stirring and cooking the sugar. After getting clumpy, the sugar will turn a brownish color and liquefy over the next few minutes.
• Once fully liquid, carefully stir in the butter slices (mixture will spatter a bit when you add the butter). Stir until butter is fully melted.
• Stirring constantly, gradually pour in the heavy cream. Pour a little at a time, while stirring.
• Stop stirring, and allow mixture to come up to a boil for 1 minute.
• Remove from heat, and stir in the Kosher salt.
• The caramel sauce is now ready, but will be extremely hot. It’s ideal to let it cool for awhile before using it.
• Note: You should store unused caramel in the fridge, ideally in a mason jar. It will become very hard when cold, but it can be warmed back up either in the microwave, or by setting it in a pan full of very hot water for a little while.
• Whipped Cream
• Combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.
• Mix with a wire whisk attachment for about 6 minutes on medium speed, until it becomes very thick, with very stiff peaks.
• Banana Pudding Cups
• Drizzle some warm caramel sauce along the inside walls of a pint-sized mason jar, parfait cup, or other small dessert cup. Then spoon some caramel into the bottom of the cup as well.
• Lay down 3 or 4 wafer cookies.
• Slice banana into thin slices, and add 3 or 4 slices into cup.
• Fill the cup about halfway full with vanilla pudding.
• Then add 3 or 4 more wafer cookies, and 3 or 4 more banana slices.
• Fill the cup most of the rest of the way up with more vanilla pudding.
• Add a thick layer of whipped cream atop the pudding.
• Sprinkle some crushed wafer cookie crumbs over top the whipped cream.
• Drizzle a little more caramel sauce over top. Garnish with one more wafer cookie.