Banana pudding is one of those recipes that feels like a hug. My grandmother would make it for my dad when he was a little boy and ever since I first tried Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding, I felt an immediate connection to this cozy classic. Spring is the perfect time to share a dessert with so many special occasions on the calendar. Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day are all holidays that deserve a sweet treat and banana pudding is a fun way to switch it up.
Whenever banana pudding is on the menu at a restaurant I always have to try it and I’ve discovered a very important requirement. A lot of places use banana flavored pudding which is NOT what you want (it tastes too artificial!). The recipes that call for vanilla pudding really prevail and the sweetened condensed milk in this original Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding recipe really elevates that flavor. We devoured this for Dave’s birthday last night and I felt like it deserved a place on HAF.
Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Recipe
Ingredients:
14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1.5 cups of ice cold water
1 3.4oz pack of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 small carton of heavy whipping cream
1 box of vanilla wafers
5-6 ripe bananas
In a bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and cold water together until it is evenly mixed (it will be a watery consistency). Add your instant vanilla pudding mix and combine until it is smooth with no clumps. Cover and refrigerate until the jello is set (3-4 hours or overnight).
In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixed!), whip the heavy cream until peaks form and it is fluffy! Make sure you don’t over whip because you don’t want this to be dense.
Using a spatula, gently fold the whip cream into your vanilla jello.
To assemble, using a bowl or a casserole dish, start by adding a clean layer of vanilla wafers, followed by bananas and then one-third of your whip cream/pudding mixture. Repeat this layering 1-2 more times (whatever works with your dish) letting the last layer be the pudding mixture. Top with crushed vanilla wafers on top!
Cover and refrigerate for 4-ish hours (I honestly only did 2 and it was delish). The longer you let it set the soggier it becomes so I recommend consuming within 8-10 hours.
