Chocolate Banana Pudding Cups

Banana pudding has a special place in our hearts. The creamy pudding, wafers, and sliced bananas makes a perfect combination. Although we are huge banana pudding fans, this chocolate version is our new favorite. The chocolate banana pudding cups are a chocolate pudding with layers of sea salt caramel, sliced bananas, and chocolate wafers. 

Tips for the Best Chocolate Banana Pudding Cups

• Use ripe bananas: Choose medium bananas that are ripe but not overly mushy. The bananas should be sliceable but ripe. Ripe bananas will add more sweetness and flavor to the pudding cups.
• Chill the pastry cream: Make sure to refrigerate the pastry cream for around 1 hour before assembling the pudding cups. This helps the cream to set and gives it a smooth and creamy texture.
• Layer the components evenly: When layering the pastry cream, salted caramel, bananas, and chocolate wafers, make sure to distribute them evenly in each layer. This ensures that every spoonful has a little bit of each flavor.
• Allow time to chill: After assembling the pudding cups, let them sit in the fridge for 1-4 hours before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together and results in the best pudding cups.

Chocolate Banana Pudding Cups Ingredient Notes

• Dark chocolate: Opt for high-quality dark chocolate, such as Valrhona, for the best flavor and smooth consistency in the pastry cream. The richness of the dark chocolate enhances the overall taste of the pudding cups.
• Salted butter: The addition of salted butter in both the pastry cream and salted caramel adds a subtle savory note that balances the sweetness of the pudding. It contributes to the rich and indulgent flavor profile. If using unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt.
• Vanilla bean paste: Using vanilla bean paste in the salted caramel provides intense vanilla flavor and adds specks of vanilla seeds for visual appeal. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can substitute with vanilla extract.
• Flaky sea salt: The flaky sea salt in the salted caramel enhances the sweetness and adds a contrasting salty taste. We add flaky sea salt to just about anything, but this can be left out 
• Chocolate sandwich cookies: We use chocolate sandwich cookies and remove the filling. After we remove the filling, we break up the cookies into pieces. This provides a delicious chocolate crunch in the pudding cups.

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Chocolate Banana Pudding Cups

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Cooling 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6 cups

Ingredients

• 2 medium bananas sliced

Chocolate pastry cream:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 5 ounces dark chocolate best quality such as Valrhona
• 4 tablespoons salted butter

Chocolate wafers:

• 15 chocolate sandwich cookies filling removed and broken into pieces

Salted caramel:

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 2 tablespoons salted butter

Whipped cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Pastry Cream:

• Set aside a bowl with a fine-mesh sieve on top. This will be to strain and cool the pastry cream once it is cooked
• In another bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Set aside the mixture
• In a saucepan, pour in the milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Place the mixture on medium-high heat until just under a boil. Be sure to stir the mixture so the milk solids do not stick to the bottom of the pan
• When the milk is warmed, add 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to ensure the eggs do not cook. After it is combined, pour the egg-milk mixture back into the remaining ⅔ of the hot milk. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture is as thick as lightly whipped cream. It should just come just barely to a boil – be sure not to let it get beyond this as the cream will curdle. Remove from the heat and immediately pour through the sieve into the bowl
• Immediately add in the chocolate and mix to combine. After the chocolate is melted, add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Stir until smooth before adding the next piece of butter. Let it sit for 10 minutes to cool slightly
• Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface so it is touching and covering all of the custard. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour while making the other components

Salted Caramel:

• In a medium pot, combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup (use a pan larger than the contents as it will bubble to ~4x the size) Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then cook, without stirring, until the mixture is amber colored, around 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. (Complete step 2 while the mixture is becoming an amber color)
• While the sugar is heating, pour the heavy cream and vanilla bean paste into a small pot and heat on medium-high until it is just under a boil. Remove from heat
• Slowly pour the warmed cream into the amber sugar syrup. At first, the mixture will boil furiously but then will simmer down. Whisk until smooth and cool 5 minutes
• One tablespoon at a time, add the butter to the caramel. Add the sea salt. Whisk constantly after each addition.
• Set aside. Note: the caramel will firm up so it may need to be slightly heated for a few seconds in the microwave before layering

Whipped Cream:

• Right before assembling, whip together heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in the base of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer on medium high speed until soft peaks form

Assembly

• Fold together the pastry cream and half the whipped cream (reserve the other half for serving)
• Cut the bananas into slices (~¼ inch thick) and set aside
• At this point, you should have all components ready – pastry cream, bananas, salted caramel, chocolate wafers, and whipped cream.
• We complete 3 layers so we do the following in thirds: a layer of pastry cream followed by a layer of caramel followed by a layer of bananas followed by a layer of wafers. After all the components are layered, top with whipped cream (we save a few extra chocolate wafers for garnish)
• Note: this can also be done in 4-6 glasses (~12 oz) or a large bowl/dish
• Let it sit in the fridge for 1-4 hours and serve. This is best served the same day of assembly.

These chocolate banana pudding cups are a delicious treat that combines creamy pastry cream, caramel, bananas, and chocolate wafers. By using the quality ingredients, and layering the components evenly, you can create these delicious pudding cups that will satisfy your cravings for a chocolate banana treat.