Banana Pudding Parfaits

This banana pudding bucks tradition a bit but still tastes nostalgic and delicious.

Banana pudding is an old-fashioned Southern dessert traditionally made with layers of Nilla wafers, vanilla pudding, and sliced bananas. Depending on the cook, it’s either topped with baked meringue, sweetened whipped cream, or cookies. The most famous banana pudding is served at Magnolia Bakery in NYC. This version is a little fancier – it’s made with homemade rum-spiked vanilla pudding and served in parfait glasses. It also bucks tradition a bit by using shortbread cookies instead of Nilla wafers, but it still tastes nostalgic and delicious. The pudding requires a few hours to chill, and the parfaits are best made 3 to 4 hours ahead of time, so plan accordingly.

What you’ll need to make Banana Pudding Parfaits

How to make Banana Pudding Parfaits

Instead of the classic Nilla wafers, I use crumbled shortbread cookies because they have a rich, buttery flavor and stay crunchy even when completely covered with pudding. The crunch of the cookies against the creamy smoothness of the bananas and pudding is what makes these parfaits unique. If you want to stick with tradition and use Nilla Wafers, that’ll work too; just keep in mind that they will have a softer texture.

To begin, combine the egg yolks, the sugar, corn starch, and salt in a medium saucepan.

Whisk to combine.

Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Once the mixture bubbles, turn the heat down and whisk constantly until the pudding thickens. Then, off the heat, add the butter, vanilla and rum.

Whisk until evenly combined.

Transfer the pudding to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours until cold. (Placing the plastic wrap directly over top keeps the pudding from forming a film.)

Or, if you’re in a hurry, you can place the pudding in an ice bath and whisk occasionally until cold.

Once the pudding is cold, whip the heavy cream.

Add the whipped cream to the pudding. Gently fold it into the pudding and refrigerate until ready to assemble the parfaits.

To assemble, spoon a large dollop of pudding into the bottom of each glass. Cover with a layer of crumbled cookies and bananas and repeat, finishing with a layer of pudding.

Crush some of the cookies into crumbs and sprinkle over top of each parfait. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.