Banana Pudding is not just for the kids anymore! 

This is a grown up dessert to turn everything upside down and inside out.  Nothing about this Banana Pudding is as it seems.

It looks good, it tastes even better.

It looks intimidating when you think about making it.  It’s pudding from scratch, no mix here.  Oooo, must be killer to make and assemble...  Nope, I have this in the oven in 30 minutes!  The pudding takes under 10 minutes to thicken.

This really goes together just like it says and is just super good and elegant eating.

Tell ‘em or don’t, it tastes like out of this world rich!  I found this years ago in Cooking Light (May 1997) on the cover.  A 3/4 cup serving comes in under 300 calories and well under 4 grams fat.

Spectacular Banana Pudding

Adapted from Cooking Light May 1997

1/3 c flour

zest of one lemon

dash salt

2  1/2 c skim milk

1 can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened condensed milk

2 egg yolks

2 t vanilla

3 bananas sliced

40 to 50 reduced-fat vanilla wafers

4 egg whites at room temp

1/4 c sugar

1/2 t almond extract

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Combine flour, lemon zest & salt in deep saucepan.  Whisk in skim & condensed milks and the two egg yolks.  Cook over medium heat until thickened, whisking almost constantly.  It takes from 8 to 10 minutes to thicken.  Stir in vanilla while cooling off burner.

Using a 2 quart baking dish, layer banana slices on the bottom, spoon 1/3 of the pudding over the banana slices, top the pudding with more banana slices and a layer of vanilla wafers.  Repeat twice.  Arrange the final wafers around the edge half way into the pudding.

Beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add sugar slowly and beat until stiff peaks form.  Spread over pudding being sure to seal around the edges.

Bake at 325° F for 20 minutes until top is golden.  Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving to prevent it’s being runny.

Serving size 3/4 c, 255 cal., 2.9 g fat

I’ve since seen this in a couple of The Best of Cooking Lights but those versions use 2% and 1% milk and are higher in fat. 

Thanks to Ilva at Lucllian Delights and Joanna at Joanna’s Foods for this heart healthy event.  The round up will be at Joanna’s this month.  I hope I’m just in time with this entry as today is the last day to post. 

Now, I’m off to do something with hazelnuts.  Ahem, it’s probably not heart healthy.