When I’m looking for a recipe for a classic dish, my first stop is always Joy of Cooking. Being enormous and timeless, it has a basic recipe for just about anything I can imagine cooking. I particularly love the vegetable section, which contains lengthy descriptions of each veggie and basic ways to prepare it, followed by several recipes per veggie. The many other sections also offer this same informative tone combined with an exhaustive list of recipes.
Around these parts, banana pudding is one such classic dish. Found on dessert menus everywhere, from barbeque joints to diners to the best restaurants in town, it holds a special place in the hearts of Southerners. Though only a semi-Southerner myself, I share with Jeff, a true-blood, a love for this homey dessert. Sadly, Jeff thought his banana pudding eating days were over due to dietary constraints. However, I’ve learned that in many milk-based dishes like puddings, soy milk can be substituted quite easily for cow’s milk. If you like soy milk for its health benefits, its gentleness on your stomach, or its taste, this recipe is for you. Besides swapping out the milk, I decreased the sugar a bit, took out the vanilla extract in favor of vanilla-flavored soy milk, and increased the cornstarch a bit to compensate for the lack of milkfat in soy milk. Curling up at the end of a long day with a bowl of this pudding is as comforting as it gets!
Soy Banana Pudding
Serves 8-10
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups vanilla soy milk
4 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Nilla wafers
Sliced bananas
In a heavy saucepan, stir sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Gradually stir in milk, making sure to dissolve the cornstarch. Whisk in egg yolks. Add butter. Stirring constantly, heat over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Reduce the heat to low; stirring briskly, bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute.
Layer nilla wafers and bananas in serving dish. Pour pudding over top of wafers and bananas, making sure to cover bananas with pudding to prevent browning. Press plastic wrap over the top of the pudding and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
0 Responses to “Soy Banana Pudding”