In case you're unfamiliar with this Southern classic, it's basically a trifle made with pudding, vanilla wafers and bananas. Like most traditional dishes, there are as many versions of banana pudding as there are cooks who make it. While I'm not a huge fan of their cupcakes, which are too sweet for my taste, Magnolia Bakery has won a permanent place in my heart with their banana pudding. Less dense than most renditions, it's lightened with fresh whipped cream and studded with healthy chunks of banana. I like my banana pudding to have little pieces of fruit, to remind me that I'm eating something made from scratch rather than from a box. Last week, spurred on by our pudding contest, I attempted to recreate Magnolia's light, not-too-sweet banana pudding, using a simple vanilla pudding recipe from Martha Stewart as my jumping-off point. And I think I came pretty close to the original.

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