No southern table in the summertime would be complete without dessert. And I can’t think of any dessert that complements that table better than classic banana pudding.

Over the years I have witnessed something akin to madness when a dish of banana pudding was placed on the table. It almost resembles a zombie apocalypse as to how excited everyone becomes over this simple yet seemingly satisfying dessert.

Now, many of you may know that there are “gangs” of women out there who all swear that their grandmother or their mothers made the best banana pudding that ever graced a table. And for them, that may be true. If I were to search long and hard enough, I would imagine there would be contests to see whose banana pudding reigned supreme. While I didn’t go to those lengths, I did peruse a few recipes, and most of them had some twist that made them different which gave claim to being the secret to it being the best recipe out there.

I would certainly never be the best judge of whose pudding is better than the other’s because as much as I love bananas, banana pudding is does not fall within my top 10 of desserts. For that matter it doesn’t fall within my top 50, but as weird as it may sound, I do like it better than strawberries. And that strangeness for most of my readers I’m sure is another head scratching thought.

But back to banana pudding.

My grandmother had a quick and fast recipe for her banana pudding, which differs immensely from many of the recipes I have perused. Her recipe consisted of only five ingredients. Well, unless you count the milk used for the instant pudding mix.

My mother’s recipe on the other hand was a bit more complex. She made her vanilla pudding from scratch. Depending upon one’s schedule, my grand-mother’s recipe could trump my mother’s if time is short. If not, then the longer version is easy enough. Regardless of which recipe is used, this summer favorite always consists of vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers, and sliced bananas. And that is all you really need to know to add a dish of creamy banana pudding to your summertime table.

BANANA PUDDING (two ways)

GRANDMOTHER’S RECIPE Ingredients

1 large box of instant vanilla pudding made with 2 cups of whole milk.

1 can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk.

12 ounces of extra creamy Cool Whip 1-2 sliced bananas 1 box vanilla wafers

Directions

Mix all ingredients then layer with wafers and bananas.

MOM’S RECIPE Ingredients

¾ cup of sugar 1 cup whole milk 1 egg well beaten.

2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon vanilla Dash of salt 2 or more sliced bananas Vanilla wafer cookies

Directions

1. Mix flour and sugar together and stir well, then add egg, milk, and salt. Cook in a medium size pan until thick, stirring constantly, or the pudding will stick and scorch.

2. Add vanilla and cook for about a minute more and stir well.

3. Cool, and then layer with sliced bananas and vanilla wafers.

4. Refrigerate until cold and then serve.