Banana Pudding

Image borrowed from: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-southern-banana-pudding-50744.aspx

I have always enjoyed banana based deserts; especially banana cream pie, banana cream pie DQ Blizzards and the ever popular banana pudding. I am not sure what it is but the desserts conjure childhood memories of consuming the rich, creamy delights. The sad thing is, once I get a taste, I feel compelled to eat the entire thing rather than just one serving. I just can't get enough!

As I have grown to adulthood, I have begun to morph the way I prepare the banana cream pie and banana pudding. (If I knew how to make the DQ Blizzards, I would be doing that as well.) Namely, I prepare my own vanilla pudding. Ummm, YUM! Who would have thought switching from the old JELLO Cook and Serve favorite to the recipe published on the Joy of Baking website (as seen below) would make such a difference?

http://www.joyofbaking.com/VanillaPudding.html

I recently made a batch of vanilla pudding for a banana pudding and I substituted the vanilla extract with vanilla paste. Let's just say the result was life altering. I am not certain I will ever use the extract for this purpose again. I also substituted some of the milk for heavy cream. Mmm...

I am in soo much trouble.