Old Fashioned Banana Pudding just like Mother used to make!

I went to my friend Anita's house today to work on some things for our Sisters on the fly campout coming up in October...she left me for about 15 minutes to make a banana pudding! By far the best I have ever had...well, she rattled out the ingredients too quickly for me to remember and told me to look it up online! Right! Here it is, or as close to what she told me (and I can remember). Believe it or not, I was raised on banana pudding along with pound cakes and "butternut cake" and I have never made a banana pudding from scratch! Please don't tell anybody, teehee, as you HAVE to know how to make one in order to be a Southern Lady!

Here goes:

OLD FASHIONED BANANA PUDDING

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup self-rising flour
• 2 cups milk, low fat or whole
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• vanilla wafer cookies
• 3 bananas, ripe but firm
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preparation:

Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and the self-rising flour in a bowl.

Slowly stir in milk. Put mixture in top of double boiler over simmering water and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Beat egg yolks then briskly stir a small amount of the hot mixture (about 1/2 cup) into them. Add egg yolk mixture back into the hot mixture in top of double boiler and stir in butter and vanilla. Cook until mixture thickens again.

Place a layer of vanilla wafers in an 11x7-inch baking dish (or other shape 2-quart shallow baking dish). Add half of the sliced bananas. Pour half of pudding mixture over banana layer. Repeat layers, ending with remaining pudding. In a mixing bowl beat egg whites until foamy; gradually beat in 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cream of tartar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pudding. Bake at 350° until browned completely. Remove from oven. Serve hot or cold.
Serves 6 to 8.