With its origins going back to proper English dinner parties as a dessert, I know it — and I think the majority of the United States knows banana pudding — as something you have after a barbecue. From what was once considered a sophisticated dessert, intentionally layered in a glass serving bowl, today it’s a hodgepodge of pudding and vanilla wafers and chunks of banana tossed into a grab-and-go container.
Banana pudding is an essential dessert here in the United States, but one that is too often forgotten. At least here in the Northeast, banana pudding is not given the attention that it deserves. So I’m thrilled that someone like Sweets for Babe is showing it as much care and giving it the attention it’s due.
I feel like anyone who opens a food business in the basement of the McCarthy Building must be awfully dedicated to their craft. Someone so passionate about the food they’re making that they find a way to open a business even if that means going into the basement of the McCarthy Building. I say that because there’s almost no visibility. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you could find an established space to rent with worse visibility than the basement of the McCarthy Building. There’s no street signage telling people where you are, so you have to rely solely on your efforts to advertise online or on the reputation of your food. I found that the latter is true here. It’s the reputation that drives people to Sweets for Babe.
I’ve known that Sweets for Babe was open for a while now — I think they’re approaching their first year anniversary. So when I decided to go out and check out some of the more diverse and minority-owned restaurants that will be represented at Taste of Syracuse this year, it was the perfect excuse to finally get down there and check them out.
I tried their classic banana pudding, the cookie butter banana pudding, and the ube banana pudding. All of them were delicious. I would definitely prefer the classic over the others — I’m more of a purist when it comes to banana pudding.
The banana puddings are sweet — very sweet, in fact — but I would say just on the line of not being too sweet. Some people like to add slices or chunks of banana into their banana pudding, but not here. You won’t find an actual banana chunk in the pudding, and I go back and forth on whether I like that or not. What I can say is that I don’t miss the brown, mushy old banana slices.
The texture of the banana pudding is almost silklike. It’s thick and stiff but smooth and silky. It won’t fall off the spoon if you turn it upside down. It’s very good. I’m assuming they use sweetened condensed milk — but that’s a wild assumption on my part. That’s how I make my banana pudding, and this feels very similar.
Taste of Syracuse is happening this coming Friday and Saturday, June 5th and 6th, in downtown Syracuse at Clinton Square. It’s happening all day both days, with so many food vendors in one place. This is the largest food festival in Syracuse and I get excited for it every year. Get down there and check out Sweets for Babe.
Sweets for Babe |217 S. Salina Street, Syracuse, NY
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