Gluten-free banana pudding

When we were walking through the grocery store last weekend we saw a mound of very ripe bananas. My husband said he would love some banana pudding but then decided he really didn't want to make it unless it could be gluten-free.

We did look for gluten-free vanilla wafers but didn't find any in the store so we thought about using a gluten-free cake. I have seen recipes for banana pudding using pound cake so I thought it would be a good alternative.

We chose to use a Betty Crocker Gluten-free Vanilla cake mix we found. As I said yesterday, this cake was very good and I made the cake according to directions and than cut it into thin slices and then cookie-sized pieces.

I made a recipe for pudding. Peeled and cut the bananas.

And then layered the ingredients.

Then I added the meringue on top. Some people meringue and others don't. Whipped cream is a good option if you don't to top off the finished pudding. This recipe makes an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 version. For a 9 x 13 dessert, double all the ingredients except for the cake mix. Half will be left over.

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Banana Pudding

For cake:
1 Betty Crocker gluten-free cake mix (only 1/2 of the cake mix will be used)

For pudding:
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 egg yolks
3 cups almond milk
3 teaspoons vanilla flavoring

3 ripe bananas

Meringue:
Whites of six eggs
1/4 cup sugar

Make 1 Betty Crocker gluten-free vanilla cake mix, according to directions, cool and cut into thin, cookie-sized pieces.

Stir together 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt into a medium saucepan. Mix egg yolks, almond milk and vanilla flavoring and pour over sugar/cornstarch mixture until well-mixed. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. It will be a bit thin.

Layer in this order -- thin layer of pudding, cake, pudding, then bananas; cake, pudding, bananas, pudding.

To make meringue: Whip egg whites until they become foamy, then add 1/4 cup sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Cover dish with meringue and bake at 400 degrees until browned.

My husband really enjoyed this dessert and my grandson, who is allergic to wheat and milk, I think, actually inhaled two helpings.