Aretha Franklin Loved This Classic Southern Dessert (And She Made It Herself)

Soul legend Aretha Franklin is remembered not just for her immortal voice, but for her love of food, which she paired with abundant skill in the kitchen and some strong opinions. All were on display during a 1999 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Franklin demonstrated how she prepares banana pudding, a classic Southern dessert much beloved by the "Respect" singer.

Using the iconic Jell-O banana cream instant pudding — which simply requires the boxed mix be whisked with milk and allowed to set — Franklin's take on banana pudding is similar to Jello-O's own recipe, building up successive layers of sliced banana, banana cream, and vanilla wafers within a deep dish, though Franklin eschews the addition of Cool Whip as a topping, and declared that the banana cream should ideally be hot.

Franklin's association with food and cooking was long-standing — it was no accident that she was cast in "The Blues Brothers" as the proprietor of a Chicago soul food diner, offering the best fried chicken in the state of Illinois. Later in life, though it would sadly never come to fruition, Franklin voiced her intent to one day open "Aretha's Chicken and Waffles", which she promised would serve "the best chicken that you have ever had in your life," in a YouTube video.

This was likely not an empty boast, as Oprah was far from the only one dazzled by Franklin's cooking. In a YouTube video of her television show, Martha Stewart proclaimed it a "dream come true" to cook with Aretha as the singer prepared a ham glazed with brown sugar, pineapple, French's mustard, and Detroit staple Vernor's ginger ale. Appearing on Emeril Live, now on YouTube, Aretha quickly asserted her authority in Emeril Lagasse's kitchen, showing him how to make her peach cobbler – but only after enjoying the cheese-smothered veal chop the Food Network host had cooked especially for her, prompting the singer to sigh, "Well, Jenny Craig..." 

Today, despite its reputation as a Southern favorite, those who share Franklin's love of banana pudding can be found everywhere, as evidenced by the success of Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding Bars in cities such as New York, Chicago, and soon Los Angles, letting customers build their own banana pudding orders with indulgent customizations like brownie bits, caramel drizzle, and Oreo chunks.