The Ultimate Banana Pudding Parfait
"To scrape a vanilla bean, lay the bean flat on a cutting board and use a small, sharp paring knife to make a slit down its entire length. Splay it open with your fingers over the pot of warming milk, and run the tip of a spoon (or the knife, carefully) down the length of the bean to thoroughly scrape out the paste of tiny seeds inside.An easy recipe adaption for Rich Vanilla Pudding:This vanilla pudding–thickened with both cornstarch and eggs–has close to the classic proportions of pastry cream, which the French call creme patissiere. It is thick enough to be a filling in a cake or pastry. If you would like to use this vanilla pudding recipe as a filling for a cake, add two additional tablespoons of cornstarch and three additional egg yolks. This will result in a thicker concoction, which, when chilled, you can use to fill cakes or pipe into eclairs...."