Bourbon Banana Pudding with Glazed Pecans
From the kitchen of CarlySilky bourbon custard meets caramelized bananas and glazed pecans in this grown-up pudding. The boozy vanilla cream sets up rich and smooth, topped with toasted nuts that crack between your teeth. Comfort dessert with an edge.
Bourbon banana pudding takes the diner classic and splits the difference: a silky custard spiked with bourbon, layered with a feather-light sponge cake and fresh bananas, then topped with shards of glazed pecans that crack between your teeth. It's retro comfort with grown-up edges and the kind of texture play that makes you reach for another spoon before the first bite settles.
- Prep
- n/a
- Cook
- n/a
- Total
- n/a
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- medium
Ingredients
4 servings
- 3 largeegg yolks
- 3/4 cupplus 2 tablespoon packed light brown sugar, divided
- 3 1/2 tbspcornstarch
- 1/4 tspsalt
- 3 cupwhole milk
- 5 tspbourbon
- 1 tsppure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tspmild honey
- 1 1/2 tspwater
- 3/4 cuppecan halves
- 3 largeeggs
- 1/2 cupplus 2 tablespoon sifted cake flour
- 1/4 tspsalt
- 1/3 cupplus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 tsppure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 tbspunsalted butter
- 1/4 cupbourbon
- 1/4 cupwater
- 3ripe medium bananas
- 1/2 cupheavy cream
- 1 tspgranulated sugar
- 1Equipment: a 9-inch square cake pan
Instructions
Give the egg yolks a light beat in a medium bowl and set them aside.
In a small heavy saucepan, whisk together 3/4 cup of the brown sugar, the cornstarch, and salt. Pour in the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking as you go, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Keep whisking constantly until the pudding thickens, about 3 minutes. Ladle the hot pudding into the yolks a little at a time, whisking without stopping, then whisk in the bourbon and vanilla.
Press wax paper directly onto the surface of the pudding and refrigerate until fully cold, about 2 hours.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar with the honey and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the pecans and toss to coat every piece, then spread them onto a lightly oiled rimmed sheet pan.
Slide the pan into the oven and bake, stirring occasionally, until the pecans are golden brown and glossy, about 15 minutes. Use a metal spatula to move them onto a rack to cool, then coarsely chop them, setting aside 4 whole halves for garnish.
Raise the oven temperature to 400°F, keeping the rack in the middle. Butter and flour the 9-inch square cake pan. Submerge the eggs (still in their shells) in hot water and leave them for 5 minutes to warm through.
While the eggs soak, whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl.
Beat the warmed eggs, 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer at high speed until the mixture triples in volume and falls from the lifted beater in a wide, flat ribbon that holds its shape, 7 to 8 minutes in a stand mixer or 14 to 16 minutes with a handheld mixer.
Scrape the batter into a wide bowl. Sift the flour mixture over the top in three additions, folding gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula after each one. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter with about 1/4 cup of the batter until smooth, then fold that mixture back into the main batter, again gently but thoroughly.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Bake until the surface is golden brown and the edges begin pulling away from the sides, 12 to 14 minutes.
While the cake bakes, bring the bourbon, water, and remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pull it off the heat.
Set the pan on a rack and run a thin knife around the inside edge to loosen the cake. Let it sit 5 minutes, then invert onto the rack.
Cut off one third of the cake and save it for another use. Brush the remaining two thirds with half the bourbon syrup, then carefully flip it right side up and brush the other side with the rest of the syrup. Leave it to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Cut the soaked cake into 1 1/2-inch squares and thinly slice the bananas.
Build 2 layers in each of 4 bowls or 10-ounce glasses: pudding, banana slices, cake squares, and chopped pecans, repeating twice and using all the cake. Finish each with a third layer of pudding, bananas, and chopped pecans.
Cover loosely and refrigerate for 1 hour, then let the assembled desserts stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
Whip the cream with the teaspoon of granulated sugar until soft peaks form, then spoon a generous dollop onto each dessert and crown with one of the reserved pecan halves.
Tips from the kitchen
- Warm your eggs in hot water before beating them for the cake. Cold eggs take twice as long to ribbon and won't reach the volume you need for a tender crumb.
- Fold the flour into the batter in three additions to avoid lumps and overworking the batter, which flattens the air you spent minutes whipping in.
- Slice the bananas no more than 30 minutes before assembling, or they'll weep liquid and slip around on the layers.
Variations
- Skip the cake and layer the bourbon custard with vanilla wafers and bananas for a pudding closer to the original, topped with whipped cream and candied pecans.
- Swap bourbon for dark rum or leave it out entirely and double down on vanilla if you want something less spirited.
- Use chopped toasted almonds or walnuts instead of pecans, or mix them if you like.
- Pipe the whipped cream into rosettes and crown each serving with a pecan half instead of folding it into the layer.
Make ahead and storage
Keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 days, though the cake will absorb moisture and soften as it sits (which some people prefer, others don't). Freezing isn't recommended because the custard and cream separate under thaw. Eat it fresh or eat it the next day, but eat it soon.