Southern Banana Cake

Time :1

Yield :10 servings

Recipe Background

Southern Banana Cake is just as creamy and delicious as any cake you've ever had. The tropical banana flavor and the sweet vanilla wafers bring that classic banana pudding flavor in cake form. Then there's a crunchy top of meringue, because yep, that sounds yummy, too! Some desserts are classic for a reason... and this is one classic dessert!

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups whole milk
4 large eggs whites and yolks separated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups vanilla wafers
4 ripe bananas cut into 1/2-inch slices

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch, and the salt and whisk to combine.
In a medium-sized, heavy saucepan, add the sugar mixture, the milk, and the egg yolks and whisk to combine.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, while stirring constantly, until the sugar mixture is thickened, about 6-8 minutes.
Transfer the saucepan from the heat.
Add the butter and the vanilla to the custard mixture and stir to combine.
In an 8-9-inch square baking dish, add 1/2 of the vanilla wafers in a single layer.
Layer 1/2 of the banana slices and 1/2 of the custard mixture over the wafer layer.
Repeat the layers with the remaining wafers, the remaining banana slices, and the remaining custard mixture.
In a mixing bowl, add the egg whites and use an electric handheld mixer to beat until foamy.
Add the remaining sugar to the egg whites and beat until the sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Spread the meringue over the pudding, spreading it to the edges of the baking dish.
Bake until golden on top, about 7-9 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes. Optionally, chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Serve.