Banana Pudding Parfaits
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This banana pudding bucks tradition a bit but still tastes nostalgic and delicious.
Banana pudding is an old-fashioned Southern dessert traditionally made with layers of Nilla wafers, vanilla pudding, and sliced bananas. Depending on the cook, it’s either topped with baked meringue, sweetened whipped cream, or cookies. The most famous banana pudding is served at Magnolia Bakery in NYC. This version is a little fancier – it’s made with homemade rum-spiked vanilla pudding and served in parfait glasses. It also bucks tradition a bit by using shortbread cookies instead of Nilla wafers, but it still tastes nostalgic and delicious. The pudding requires a few hours to chill, and the parfaits are best made 3 to 4 hours ahead of time, so plan accordingly.
What you’ll need to make Banana Pudding Parfaits
How to make Banana Pudding Parfaits
Instead of the classic Nilla wafers, I use crumbled shortbread cookies because they have a rich, buttery flavor and stay crunchy even when completely covered with pudding. The crunch of the cookies against the creamy smoothness of the bananas and pudding is what makes these parfaits unique. If you want to stick with tradition and use Nilla Wafers, that’ll work too; just keep in mind that they will have a softer texture.
To begin, combine the egg yolks, the sugar, corn starch, and salt in a medium saucepan.
Whisk to combine.
Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Once the mixture bubbles, turn the heat down and whisk constantly until the pudding thickens. Then, off the heat, add the butter, vanilla and rum.
Whisk until evenly combined.
Transfer the pudding to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours until cold. (Placing the plastic wrap directly over top keeps the pudding from forming a film.)
Or, if you’re in a hurry, you can place the pudding in an ice bath and whisk occasionally until cold.
Once the pudding is cold, whip the heavy cream.
Add the whipped cream to the pudding.
Gently fold it into the pudding and refrigerate until ready to assemble the parfaits.
To assemble, spoon a large dollop of pudding into the bottom of each glass. Cover with a layer of crumbled cookies and bananas and repeat, finishing with a layer of pudding.
Crush some of the cookies into crumbs and sprinkle over top of each parfait. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.
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Banana Pudding Parfaits
This banana pudding bucks tradition a bit but still tastes nostalgic and delicious.
Ingredients
For the Pudding
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 egg yolks
- 3½ cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ tablespoons dark rum
For the Sweetened Whipped Cream
- ¾ cup heavy cream, cold
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
For Assembling
- 4 bananas, very ripe but not mushy, sliced*
- 2 (5.3 oz) boxes Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread Cookies, or similar, broken into ¼-inch pieces
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks. Whisk in the milk and bring to simmer, stirring frequently, over medium heat (it will take 5 to 8 minutes). When the mixture starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in the butter, vanilla and rum. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a film from forming. Chill in the refrigerator until cool, a few hours. (To hurry it up, you can place the bowl in an ice bath and whisk occasionally until cold.)
- Once the pudding is cold, place the heavy cream in a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip on medium-low speed until the whisk or beaters begin to leave tracks in the cream. Add the confectioners' sugar and whip until the cream holds medium, silky peaks. Go slowly towards the end; if it gets grainy or curdled, you’ve gone too far. Use a rubber spatula to fold the whipped cream into the cold pudding.
- Spoon a large dollop of the pudding mixture into the bottom of each parfait glass. Top with one layer of cookie pieces and one layer of sliced bananas. Repeat once and top with a final layer of pudding. Crumble some of the cookie pieces and sprinkle over top. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.
- *Do not slice the bananas until you are ready to assemble the parfaits.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 573
- Fat: 27 g
- Saturated fat: 13 g
- Carbohydrates: 73 g
- Sugar: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 339 mg
- Cholesterol: 158 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I am planning to serve these at a brunch. Would it be OK to make the pudding the night before, then in the morning fold in the whipped cream and assemble the parfaits with the cookies and bananas ?
Sure, that should be fine. Just give the pudding a few stirs before you incorporate the whipped cream. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
Mine turned out with fantastic flavor but is not firming up enough even after 4 hours. I used banana extract and rum instead of vanilla extract and rum. Any ideas what could have gone wrong?
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, it sounds like it was a bit undercooked. Did it thicken up at all?
Tasted great and i love your “tip” about using a mason jar! Grandkids lived that!!! You always seem to have a handy “tip” to make the recipe special
Thanks
If I wanted to make the banana pudding the day before serving
should I also fold in whipped cream or wait until the next day?
Hi AnnMarie, You make the pudding completely and serve it the next day. Enjoy!
Do you have a shortbread cookie recipe that would be suitable for this?
I think this recipe would work nicely. Hope you enjoy!
Even after being forgotten in the fridge for two days, the pudding was still good but a little lumpy from having solidified. I whipped up the cream and afterwards I used the same mixer whisk to smooth out the pudding. I made a banana cream pie with shortbread crust and layered it just the same as if it were in a parfait glass. The Walkers shortbread brought a whole new dimension to it, perfect combo of smooth pudding with just a hint of rum to kick it up a notch and ripe bananas and the crunch of a really good crumbly cookie. I had enough left over to put in two ramekins ( bought for Jenn’s warm lemon pudding cakes which are also spoon licking excellent). Gotta say, nothing low fat or low calorie about it, but if you’re going to treat yo’self, well this is the way to go.
First of all I have to say that I LOVEEEE all your recipes! I have yet to have a bad one. If I want to make the banana pudding in a baking dish what size do you recommend? 8×8 , 9×13, or something else?
So glad you like the recipes! I’d guesstimate that you’d need an 8 x 8-inch dish. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn! I would like to make the pudding the day before so should
I add the whipped cream the next day before assembling?
Hi AnnMarie, I’d just make the whole pudding the day before. It should be fine. Enjoy!
If you had to choose between a light rum or no rum, what’s the verdict?
I have enjoyed your recipes so very, very much!!
Thanks! Joan
Glad you like the recipes! I’d use the light rum — enjoy!
If I wanted to make my own shortbread cookies, would your Scottish Shortbread recipe work, or will it be too tender to hold up? Any other suggestions?
Sure, Penny, those should work. Hope you enjoy!