Golden Oreo Banana Pudding

Fill a double boiler or medium-sized saucepan just under halfway with water. Heat the water over high heat until it’s at a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high. If you’re using a saucepan, place a large bowl over the saucepan to make a double boiler – the bowl should be big enough so that it sits on the rim of the saucepan. Do not let it touch the water below: if it does, remove some of the water from the pan.

Add the butter, flour, and sugar to the bowl and whisk them together. The butter will melt, and you should have a mixture resembling cornmeal in the bowl. 

Slowly whisk in the milk, one-half cup at a time, making sure it’s completely incorporated before you add more milk. Once all the milk has been added continue whisking the mixture for 10-12 minutes, until slightly thickened. It should coat the back of a spoon and the sides of the bowl – don’t move to the next step until this happens. 

Now it’s time to temper the egg yolks: ladle a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into the bowl of beaten egg yolks, whisking the entire time. Repeat this step until you’ve added about half a cup of liquid to the yolks.

Whisk the tempered egg yolks into the bowl of pudding mixture, and continue to whisk for another 12-15 minutes. You don’t need to whisk constantly, but at least every 5 minutes or so. Once the pudding has thickened – you should be able to pick up spoonfuls of it that will run off and drip from the spoon after a few seconds. 

Remove the bowl or boiler from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste, whisking vigorously to make sure it’s well distributed. Set the pudding aside to cool while you make the whipped cream.

To a large bowl with a hand mixer, or the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment affixed, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and cornstarch. Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipping cream into the pudding in batches, gently. If you have issues with lumps you can finish each fold with a quick whisking just until the lumps are dissolved. 

Line the bottom of your serving dish with Golden Oreos and banana slices. Spoon in about half of the pudding and top with the remaining Oreos and sliced bananas. Finish with the rest of the pudding. Garnish with crushed Oreos or whipped cream or whatever you like. 

Refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. This will keep covered in the fridge for about 4 days.