I Made My Mom A Banana Pudding From Scratch For Mother's Day. It's One Of Her Favorite Desserts, So I

I made my mom a banana pudding from scratch for Mother's Day. It's one of her favorite desserts, so I called up my auntie and got the recipe and got to work. (What was crazy is that all these years, she has literally been using the from-scratch recipe on the side of the vanilla wafers box) This was not my favorite to make...it was HARD. I've never double boiled anything before so I had to make a DIY double boiler out of a pot, a metal bowl with strainer holes in it, and a ceramic bowl. Then I wasted alot of eggs on my first round of making the meringue. I learned that even if you leave a little yolk in the whites, the meringue will be ruined. I HATED getting rid of all those sugary egg whites, but I had no alternate use for them!! I have also never used a hand whip before... I had to put my back into it. But the second meringue came out perfect. I'm very proud of myself and I know she's going to love it but this dessert? It was alot of work involved for me with this and I'm not even crazy about bananas. I'm crazy about them Nilla Wafers, though! Here is a picture of the runny egg whites versus the meringue that whipped and fluffed perfectly below

This is the recipe that I used, from the Nilla Wafers:

3⁄4cup  granulated sugar (I used a cup)

1⁄3cup  all-purpose flour

1 dash  salt

4 eggs, separated, at room temperature 

2 cups  milk

1⁄2teaspoon  vanilla extract (I used a whole heaping teaspoon)

35 -45 shortbread cookies (like "Nilla wafers", reserve 10 to 12 for garnish) (These went in the layers between the bananas & custard)

5 -6 medium  bananas, sliced (fully riped)

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. 

Stir in 4 egg yolks and milk; blend well. 

Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened. 

Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  (I'm not sure why it says 5 minutes. It quite literally took me an hour and some change to heat and stir this to the consistency of pudding)

Remove from heat; add vanilla. (I put my vanilla in while it was bubbling)

Spread small amount on bottom of 1 1/2 quart casserole; cover with layer of Nilla Wafers. Top with layer of sliced bananas.

Pour about 1/3 of the custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make 3 layers each, ending with custard.

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes or until delicately browned. 

Cool slightly or chill. (My mom requested me to make this at least 1-2 days before the holiday so it could sit in the refrigerator and soften and get super sweet)

Just before serving, garnish with banana slices, then stand Nilla Wafers upright around edge of dish.