Lush Vanilla Berry Pudding

Did banana pudding make you promises it couldn’t keep? Did it turn out to be just a bowl of runny custard with sad, weepy, brown bananas studded throughout? This is banana pudding’s usual MO and it’s time to fix it! But the thing is, I (and so many of us at Bon Appétit) hate bananas. Something about the texture. So this is my gift to our exclusive banana haters’ club: banana pudding—but no bananas allowed. Just the joy of ripe, tangy summer berries running amok in buttery vanilla pudding and cream, plus a handful of crunchy vanilla wafers. Your banana pudding could never!

Strawberries are conspicuously absent from this recipe because they tend to be too watery and don’t hold up well. Like a traditional banana pudding, this version can be assembled and chilled 1 day ahead. Also, nothing compares to the flavor of Nilla Wafers, so please don’t try and switch them out for a lesser cookie. —Shilpa Uskokovic