Baked Banana Pudding without eggs?

There would be no need to bake it if there were no eggs. A banana custard (pudding with eggs) needs to heat to set and to cook the eggs a bit.

Ingredients

3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 and 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 cups whole milk (don’t substitute for anything else, or it won’t be as rich)

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 large (ripe) bananas, sliced thinly

1 batch of homemade vanilla wafers* (or 10 oz. of store bought ones.)

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, whole milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk together until combined, then continue whisking constantly for about 10 minutes, until the pudding thickens and starts to bubble.

Add in the butter, remove from the heat, and whisk until completely melted. If there are any lumps, pour the pudding through a mesh sieve into a separate bowl. Allow pudding to sit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, until cool to the touch.

To assemble

First, place a layer of bananas in the bottom of a round 9 inch bowl (or something of similar size), then a layer of vanilla wafers (it doesn’t have to be perfect, because when you scoop up the pudding to serve, everything gets served together), then a layer of pudding.

Repeat this banana, wafer, pudding layering until the last layer is pudding. Place in the fridge for 5-6 hours, covered in tin foil or plastic wrap. (I chilled mine overnight and in the morning it tasted perfect!)

When the pudding is ready, Put your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 5/10 minutes or until very cold. Then, whip together the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until peaks form, about 5 minutes at the most.

Top the pudding with the whipped cream, then sprinkle some crushed wafers over the top of the pudding. Keeps well in the fridge for 3 days.