Banana Pudding

Cheers to the Weekend: Toasted Meringue Banana Pudding

June 15, 2018

Banana pudding is one of those desserts that I will never tire of. It’s nostalgic, incredibly easy to make and yet it still manages to be a show-stopping dessert that takes people’s breath away (or at least mine). Over the years, I’ve shared a few banana pudding inspired recipes on the blog, and I hold each and every one of them close to my heart. There was that one time I turned it into ice cream and I’m still dreaming about it. How can we forget about this decadent Banana Pudding Cake? One of the most popular posts in the archives, from way back when I first started blogging, is this Bourbon Banana Pudding Cheesecake and I can easily say it’s a dream come true. Last but not least, there was that time I combined my love of banana pudding with rice pudding and the result was beautiful as it was delicious. Recently, when I was looking back at the banana pudding recipes on the blog, I realized I didn’t have a classic recipe. As some of you know by now though, I can’t always do simple and classic, so of course I decided to make a classic banana pudding but with a bit of a twist. This one is topped with homemade meringue that is toasted, giving it a marshmallowy/camp-fire taste to it that I think makes it perfect for summer. Let’s Cheers to the Weekend with a giant spoonful (or two) of this classic dessert.

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Banana Pudding Cake

July 19, 2017

Today is my middle sister’s birthday, and if there is one thing my sister loves (more than me obviously) it would have to be bananas. Well, fruit in general, but bananas are up there in the top two category. Second to cantaloupe, but I still haven’t figured out a cantaloupe cake and something tells me…maybe I don’t want to? So until then, banana cake it is. I don’t think anyone will complain too much about it, let’s be real. It’s all going to work out though, as one of my sister’s favorite desserts happens to be banana pudding because it has all the things she loves, bananas, whipped cream, and vanilla pudding. She could give or take the wafers, if I’m being honest, but it wouldn’t be a banana pudding without them so I’m keeping them in. Sorry, Nick. This Banana Pudding Cake is classic southern dessert meets birthday layered cake. It’s over the top, it’s completely out of this world, but it’s most definitely necessary. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Whether it just so happens to be your birthday today as well, or you’re wanting to celebrate summer, or want to party along with us in order to celebrate my sister’s birthday, this cake needs to make an appearance in your kitchen as soon as humanly possible. Don’t let summer pass you by without having made this cake, you promise? If this doesn’t convince you, then maybe last year’s Vanilla Birthday Sprinkle Cupcakes will. You can’t go wrong with cupcakes and sprinkles.

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Cheers to the Weekend: Banana Pudding Ice Cream

February 3, 2017

I have to tell you the story about this ice cream. There are two parts to this tale. The first part is how it came into my life. I’m fortunate enough to travel to New Orleans once a month to work with my friend Joy, on photographing for her blog. Last year, during one of my trips in the summer, when the weather was brutal, we stopped to get a pre-dinner snack of ice cream. We were actually on our way to dinner, and Joy noticed an ice cream shop that she’d been meaning to try because she heard good reviews about it. So we stopped in and grabbed a scoop of ice cream each. I picked banana pudding because I was in the south and any other flavor just wouldn’t be right, and she picked some sort of chocolate hazelnut flavor I believe. That memory is a bit hazy. Anyhow, we made a deal that we’d eat the ice cream until we got to the car because we were on our way to dinner after all. The thing is I didn’t know about this deal until we got to the car, so Joy got in and stopped eating her ice cream and so I was wadding around outside the door, eating my ice cream as fast as I could because it was that good!

Since that moment, I become determined to recreate that banana pudding ice cream at home. This was last year, and so the second part to my story begins here. When I was determined to make this ice cream and shoot it for the blog, my ice cream maker stopped working. I never got around to getting a new one, and so when Christmas came around I asked Santa for an ice cream maker and there it was under the tree. So then cut to us now, I was finally able to make it and share it with you all. So even if for nothing else, other than the ice cream looks delicious, I feel like now you have to give it a try because of everything I went through to make it. It was worth it though. Also, I know it’s winter right now and we’re not in the ice cream mindset yet, but I grew up eating things during opposite seasons. I always (and still do) crave ice cream when it’s cold and soup when it’s super hot. My mom would make soup on the hottest day of the year, and so now that’s when I crave it the most. Let’s not talk about it, instead let’s Cheers to the Weekend!

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Bourbon Banana Pudding Cheesecake

March 7, 2013

When it comes to food there are only a few things that my sister really loves. Sure, she’ll eat and try everything I make and enjoy it, always eyeing it with great suspicion and asking “What’s in this?” There are only a handful of dishes and desserts that will make her smile and ask for seconds. I take advantage of those moments and make a mental note to remember what it is that I made. Cooking for 12 years now, I have come to realize what each one of my family members like or dislike. My sister is very picky. I don’t know if I should call her picky—mainly because she’ll read this—but perhaps I should say that she knows what she likes. She is a woman of stern belief and when she makes up her mind, she likes what she likes. There’s no budging her from this. However, I have come to learn the signs when she doesn’t care for something in particular. If she doesn’t like the way something tastes she will eat really slowly and just smile. “You don’t like it do you?” I’ll ask her. She’ll just scrunch up her face and shake her head and as cool, calm and collected as possible she’ll respond with a sly “Noooooo.” Growing up, or even now, if we go to a party or a dinner at a friend’s house she’ll just reserve whatever she doesn’t like, and when no one is looking move it over onto my plate. Lucky for her, I’m a garbage disposal. I’ll eat anything. Hey, what are little brothers for if not to eat the food you don’t like?

So you might be wondering what does my sister like? Well, if you weren’t wondering it pretend that you were. She will go crazy for anything with banana in it. It’s her absolute favorite flavor. Upon learning this I have made it my life’s mission to make countless desserts made with that yellow fruit. I began brainstorming this post with that idea in mind. I realized that I hadn’t made something for my sister in a long time so I wanted to dedicate a post to her. She loves cheesecake and she loves bananas, so I decided to mash the two together. The outcome is this Banana Pudding Cheesecake. Because I wanted to make it a little more sinful and take it over the edge, I decided to slap on Bourbon to the beginning of the title. I may have incorporated copious amounts of that whiskey into this dessert but I can guarantee you that you cannot taste the alcohol. You won’t get drunk from it. I wonder if it is even possible to get drunk from a dish or dessert that has alcohol in it? I’m sure one could, if the dessert was just drenched in it and wasn’t even cooked. You don’t have to worry about that here.

The cheesecake has the perfect amount of banana flavor which garnered me two thumbs up. My sister practically ate the entire thing herself, and even stole a piece I was saving for our friend. I didn’t want to point any fingers, but I’m pointing fingers. Our friend, if you’re reading this she ate it. Stole it right from the fridge and didn’t think twice about it. I even think there was a maniacal laugh involved when I told her it was for you. She just continued to gobble it away. I guess this just goes to show us how good this cheesecake actually is. And because I don’t want to start WWIII with my family, I’ll take this moment to tell my other sister that I will make her something soon. Another dedication post with her name written all over it. What could be better than surrounding yourself with delicious treats and your family close at hand to enjoy it with? Nothing else my friends, I think that pretty much tops the list.

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