This recipe is inspired by my dear friend, Ellie. She is one of the smartest, wisest, and funniest Korean Americans I have ever met, and she also makes a mean banana pudding. Seriously, she could put Magnolia Bakery out of business. However, Ellie recently moved to New York, aka the home of Magnolia Bakery, so I guess she can just indulge in all of the fatness and delicousness that is the Big Apple.

For this recipe, in homage to Ellie’s Korean heritage, uses two distinctly Korean ingredients: Korean banana milk and misugaru. Coincidentally enough, both are typically found in beverage form; you can buy Korean banana milk from most Asian grocery stores like H-Mart, while misugaru is typically found in Caffe Bene’s delicious misugaru latte.

Banana milk literally tastes like liquified banana laffy taffy, while the misugaru powder, which is a toasted grain blend, tastes like peanut butter; fun fact: misugaru is completely gluten-free. I opted to use the misugaru because peanut butter and bananas go well together naturally, and this kind of powder can be used in the wafers without really comprising the texture of the cookie.

I used the banana milk to make the custard base for the pudding, and since it has lot much sugar and flavor already packed into it, you literally just need the milk, egg yolks, and a little gelatin to really set it. Enjoy on a hot summer day or whenever you want banana pudding, because this shizz is delicious!

Banana milk custard:
4 egg yolks
16 oz. banana milk
1/2 teaspoon gelatin powder +  1 tablespoon cold water

Bloom gelatin and water. In a pot, bring bloomed gelatin and banana milk to a simmer. Temper into egg yolks and continue whipping over medium-high heat until the pudding is substantially thickened. Strain and chill.

Misugaru wafers:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg white
1/2 cup misugaru powder
1 teaspoon water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
1 stick unsalted butter; melted

Whip together the egg white, baking powder, and sugar. Fold in all of the other ingredients, and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe out the cookies onto a parchment sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes.

For garnish:
1 fresh banana (per every two servings)
Whipped cream

Assembly:
Spoon the custard over wafers in a glass. Layer on bananas and whipped cream. The longer the custard sits, the creamier the pudding, so keep that in mind when you’re about to serve it!