There’s always room for dessert… Especially if it’s homemade banana pudding! If you’re familiar with the famous Magnolia Bakery, you’re aware they have the most amazing banana pudding that they serve in the most simple paper cartons.
With some help from my sister, who I observed while she made this a while back, I decided to share my version with you all.
You have the sweetness from the pudding, texture and taste from the bananas, and the cake-like ingredients from Nilla wafers. This is a perfect, and pretty, dessert to bring to any party or if you’re entertaining.
Ingredients:
- Two packages of Jell-O Instant Pudding in Vanilla
- Four Cups Skim Milk
- One and a quarter boxes of Nilla Wafers, Reduced Fat (optional)
- Low-fat whipped cream
- 6 Ripe Bananas, diced
- One Trifle Bowl
Directions:
The first step in making this dessert is to make the pudding. I like to buy the instant kind because it takes a while to make the regular kind by having to boil the milk. Plus, the regular kind takes longer to chill since this dessert is served cold.
In a large mixing bowl, add two pudding packets and whisk in four cups of milk. The pudding then takes five minutes for it to set and become pudding-like.
While the pudding is setting, begin to dice up the bananas. The bananas I used were about a week ripe, and were kept in the fridge. Once the bananas are diced, add them to the pudding and fold them into the pudding.
Now that the banana pudding is prepped, you are ready to assemble. For the dessert, it is best to use a trifle bowl. It looks pretty and makes assembling fun!
For the first layer, add a thin layer of the banana pudding. Next, add a layer of Nilla wafers. Then, take the whipped cream and use a circular motion to make a swirled layer over the wafers. You will repeat this step about three times to create multiple layers. The more narrow and deep the dish is, the more layers you will have. I once made a huge portion of this in a sheet pan, but it was about two layers given the dish was shallow.
Always end with a layer of banana pudding. Over the pudding top, take additional wafers and crush them, but not too much to where they are crumbs. You want to have some chunks in there.
With the crumbs, sprinkle over the pudding and cover with plastic wrap before placing in the fridge to chill. I allowed mine to chill for five hours. The longer the dessert chills, the soggier your wafers are, the better. This is the desired texture for the dessert.
Once you are ready to serve, grab a long spoon and serve to your happy guests to enjoy!
