Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding
My husband’s family came to visit us during Thanksgiving and I needed a fast and easy dessert to be able to feed a lot of people. Enter Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding. When my husband and I lived in New Jersey, we frequently went to Magnolia Bakery in New York City for a tasty treat. This banana pudding is their famous recipe and can be found in the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. It is deliciously creamy with ripe bananas and softened nilla wafers.
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Ingredients
- One 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1½ cups ice cold water
- One 3.4oz package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-o brand)
- 3 cups (720g) heavy cream
- One 11oz box Nabisco Nilla Wafers
- 4 cups sliced ripe bananas
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined (approximately 1 minute). Add the pudding mix and beat well for 2 more minutes. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the pudding so a film doesn’t form on the top. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours (or overnight) to allow enough time for the pudding to set before completing the next steps.
In the bowl of the stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer), whip the heavy cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to whip the cream past stiff peaks because it will turn to butter and you will have to start over.
Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until it is well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.
Banana Pudding Assembly
Select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity so there is enough space to hold the whole mixture. I used a trifle bowl that my husband and I received as a wedding present. Put a small amount of vanilla pudding on the bottom of the bowl and layer one-third of the Nilla wafers to cover the pudding. Overlap the wafers, if necessary. Follow the wafers with one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layers (i.e., wafers, bananas, pudding) two more times and then cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill the banana pudding in the fridge for 4-8 hours. Less than 4 hours will not allow the cookies to soften enough. More than 8 hours and the cookies will have softened too much.
You might notice in the pictures that I put the wafers as the bottom layer without the pudding underneath. You can do this, but the pudding will not be able to soften the wafers and they will remain crunchy after chilling in the fridge. I prefer the softened cookies which is why I suggested putting the pudding under the bottom layer of cookies.
Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- One 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1½ cups ice cold water
- One 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-o brand)
- 3 cups (720g) heavy cream
- One 11 oz box Nabisco Nilla Wafers
- 4 cups sliced ripe bananas
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined (approximately 1 minute). Add the pudding mix and beat well for 2 more minutes. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the pudding so a film doesn’t form on the top. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours (or overnight) to allow enough time for the pudding to set before completing the next steps.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer), whip the heavy cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to whip the cream past stiff peaks because it will turn to butter and you will have to start over.
- Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until it is well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.
Banana Pudding Assembly
- Select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity so there is enough space to hold the whole mixture. Put a small amount of vanilla pudding on the bottom of the bowl and layer one-third of the Nilla wafers to cover the pudding. Overlap the wafers, if necessary. Follow the wafers with one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layers (i.e., wafers, bananas, pudding) two more times and then cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Chill the banana pudding in the fridge for 4-8 hours. Less than 4 hours will not allow the cookies to soften enough. More than 8 hours and the cookies will have softened too much.