Southern Plate-Homemade Banana Pudding

So tonight we had left overs so I had plenty of time to make a dessert. I chose Homemade Banana Pudding and to my surprise it only took about 30 minutes to make and 30 minutes to cool. I followed this recipe to the letter and am proud to say this is the first time I have ever made pudding from scratch!

Pudding
1 box vanilla wafers
5 bananas
1/2 cup splenda
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
3 egg yolks (reserve whites for the meringue)
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place a layer of vanilla wafers in the bottom of a medium bowl. Slice a banana over the top. Repeat two more times with another layer of wafers and the remaining bananas.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, salt, egg yolks, and milk. Stir well with a wire whisk and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, until thickened, about 15 minutes (on my gas stove about 7 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Immediately pour over the wafers and bananas. Let sit for 5 minutes or so to give the wafers time to absorb the pudding.

Meringue
3 Egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Make the meringue: in a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Add the sugar and continue beating on high speed until soft peaks form. Pour onto the top of the pudding and spread to edges to seal well. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top is golden. Allow to cool completely before serving.