Grab a spoon, everybody! We’re making pudding and diving into it. More specifically, we’re making a peanut butter pudding layered with jammy, sweet caramelised bananas and biscuit crumbs to round off the whole thing. It’s easy, it’s comforting and it’s reeeeellly delicious.

Last year I was lucky enough to try New York’s infamous Magnolia Bakery banana pudding. And the hype is for a reason! It’s so good and so basic, I had to make it at home but I forgot all about it till a few days ago. That’s when I thought: must.add.peanut.butter because one of the things about banana pudding is it can be super duper sweet. I wanted to tinker with it a bit to get it where I liked.

I’d decided to make a simple instant custard like I did in this trifle, swirl peanut butter into it, and make sure there were just a couple of spoons of sugar. Because I’d also suddenly decided to switch the bananas up and caramelise them instead. A sprinkling of sugar and about 10 minutes under the oven broiler and omg. I will admit, they look a bit….squishy after being caramelised but they taste so good! Sweet but kind of in a burnt caramel way that’s unbelievable.

Together with the biscuits, this makes one decadent pudding. Overall, it’s not super high on the sugar and you can certainly skip caramelising the bananas if you prefer. There’s no issues with using fresh bananas, but keep in mind they will get a bit darker and mushier if you have leftovers. Once they’re cooked in the oven, they remain that way. Win win!

There’s plenty of texture from the bananas and the biscuit crumbs. I prefer the crumbs to not be super finely ground, some bigger bits are fun to chew on. The custard is smooth and delicious, with tons of peanut butter flavour and while this isn’t the most stylish dessert you’ll make, it’s up there with the tastiest!

Let’s make pudding 🙂

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Caramelised Banana & Peanut Butter Pudding (Eggless)

Eggless peanut butter custard with caramelised bananas, layered with biscuit crumbs

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 40

Makes: 4 to 5 servings

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Ingredients

For the custard

3 tbsps vanilla flavoured custard powder
3 cups whole milk (750 ml)
3 tbsps caster sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably unsweetened

For the pudding layers

125 gms digestive biscuits (or other neutral-ish biscuits or graham crackers)
4 to 5 bananas, sliced
1/3 cup caster sugar (60 gms)

Instructions

Dissolve the custard powder in 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl and set aside. Then in a saucepan, stir the sugar into the remaining 2 and 1/2 cups milk and bring to a simmer on low heat.
Stir the peanut butter into the warm milk, till melted though I found it doesn't fully dissolve, you can see specks of peanut butter throughout which isn't a bad thing.
Into the saucepan, pour in the custard powder+milk mixture slowly and whisk constantly. In a few seconds the mixture will begin to thicken. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes till it coats the back of a spoon and when you run your finger down the spoon, it should leave a trail.
Turn off the heat and let the custard cool for about 30 minutes, before transferring to the fridge till completely chilled and no longer runny. A skin will inevitably form on top so whisk it thoroughly before using.
While the custard chills, blitz the biscuits in a bowl of a food processor until crumbed, not super finely ground. You want there to still be bigger bits scattered throughout.
Now place the banana slices in a single layer on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat or non stick baking paper.
Sprinkle the bananas liberally with the sugar, then place under the oven broiler for about 10 minutes until the bananas are caramelised and the sugar is deeply browned. Make sure you place the tray in the center of the oven, not very close to the rods as the sugar burns very fast. If you would like to do this on the stove, melt the sugar and then place the banana slices on it, letting them cook and caramelise. Allow the banana slices to cool completely.
To assemble the puddings, choose your favourite jars or glasses, 4 to 5 medium sized ones will work well, but there are no rules. You could also just assemble the pudding in a deep bowl.
Layer the biscuits, then custard, then bananas, repeating until all of it is used up. Reserve a spoonful of crumbs to decorate the top, and drizzle with more peanut butter. Chill for 20 minutes before digging in! Will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days, but the crumbs will soften quite a bit. Happy pudding!

Notes

Shop this recipe: Custard Powder, Peanut Butter, Digestive Biscuits, Caster Sugar

*Depending on the size of your jars you may need more or less bananas. The biscuit crumbs and custard are enough to go across 4 to 5 servings, so you can scale the recipe up or down as needed.

*Caramelising the bananas is not essential, you can just use freshly sliced bananas instead. Keep in mind that they will darken if the pudding is not eaten immediately.

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