Sweet Kitchen Cravings

0 Vanilla Pastry Cream: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla bean paste, and salt until well combined (the mixture should lighten in color). Slowly stream the milk into the egg mixture while whisking.
1 Cook over low heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the pastry cream from the heat and strain it through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in the butter. Place plastic wrap directly over the custard and chill in the fridge until completely cooled.
2 For the Whipped Cream: When you are ready to assemble the cups, make the whipped cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until combined, then slowly increase the speed to medium-high and whip until the cream thickens and forms medium-stiff peaks.
3 Add about half of the whipped cream to the cooled pastry cream, reserving the remaining for topping the cups. Gently fold in the whipped cream using a rubber spatula until it is fully combined.
4 Assembly: Right before assembling, cut the bananas into slices. In individual dessert cups or jars, add a layer of Nilla wafers, breaking them into pieces. Add a scoop of the pudding mixture, covering the cookies. Add a layer of the sliced bananas, then another scoop of the pudding. Add a dollop of the reserved whipped cream to the top of each cup.
5 Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, finish with more Nilla wafers, then serve and enjoy!