The Duchess of Sussex shared her grandmother’s banana pudding recipe on her Instagram last night as she named the dessert after her daughter Lilibet in a family tribute
When Meghan Markle shares a recipe, you can bet it’s going to go viral. In fact, within 24 hours of sharing her special take on ‘banana pudding’, multiple versions appeared online as searches spiked.
But the Duchess of Sussex soon anticipated pushback on her version. She told New York Times: “I know some people will be upset that I took out the wafers”. Instead of layering them with sliced bananas, she crushes them with a rolling pin. She continued: “But I like them crumbled on top.”
Having heard of banana pudding in the US, I had to give it a go. It’s something that you don’t come across often in the UK, combining a mixture of vanilla pudding with slices of banana and whipped cream.
Meghan affectionately named her recipe ‘Chantilly Lili’ as tribute to her daughter Lilibet. Meghan shared a clip of her making the dessert on her Instagram page on Thursday night, explaining it was her grandmother’s recipe that has been passed down through the generations.
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The original recipe is said to be a favourite of Meghan’s and involves layers of creamy custard, ripe bananas, and fresh strawberries, all topped off with a generous dollop of whipped cream. Unlike the classic Southern banana pudding, Meghan’s version incorporates a citrusy twist with lemon zest and juice, providing a fresher, zingier contrast to the usual rich sweetness.
I used the recipe shared on the NYT Cooking website – adapted by food reporter Julia Moskin. The preparation was straightforward enough, although it did require some patience.
The custard, made from scratch, needs to cool before being layered with the fruit and cream which means waiting around for two hours at least. The strawberries add a vivid pop of colour and sweetness, while the lemon introduces a tart brightness that’s unusual but surprisingly refreshing.
The preparation was fairly simple, I wouldn’t say I’m the best baker but I managed this recipe easily. I think the key is to follow the instructions exactly to ensure you are getting the right consistency for the pudding.
I also had to convert the metrics being based in the UK, but that was simple enough thanks to Google. It was quite relaxing to make, and not too messy which was a win for me.
Once assembled, the pudding looked beautiful – a layered dessert that seemed almost too pretty to eat. I used a wine glass to present it – and despite the recipe allegedly making six portions, I used up 3/4 of the pudding for this one glass.
When I first tasted the dessert, I was surprised by the lack of banana flavour. It was delicious – but I wasn’t getting much banana.
The entire recipe calls for just one banana – and when it’s called ‘banana pudding’, I think I was expecting the flavour to pop a bit more. The strawberries, which were covered in lemon zest and sugar, definitely overtook the banana flavour.
While the creaminess was certainly there, I also found the ratio of cream to pudding slightly off. It needed more whipped cream on top to balance the custard’s richness. It’s definitely worth keeping in mind that the portions are fairly small if you are splitting between six as the recipe states.
The strawberries against the pudding made for a refreshing dessert, but you might be disappointed if you are a big banana lover. Next time, I would perhaps ditch the strawberries and add more banana, folding it into the pudding.
Overall, I enjoyed trying Meghan Markle’s banana pudding recipe. It’s a delicious dessert with its own unique twist, but for those craving a true banana pudding experience, it might leave something to be desired.
It’s certainly worth a try, especially if you appreciate fruity, refreshing desserts with a hint of citrus. I also found it fairly simple to make and don’t think you need to be a whizz in the kitchen to whip this up.
I would make it again, but perhaps create my own version to suit my taste more.
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