Pudding is one of the components of a trifle. This banana trifle takes that idea and marries it with an iconic Southern dessert. When we think of banana pudding, it’s like the best kind of parfait, made with layers of pudding, vanilla wafers, a crown of whipped cream, and banana slices. This banana pudding trifle recipe is ideal for make-ahead desserts and feeding a crowd.
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New York’s Magnolia Bakery popularized the pudding outside of the South. It’s a very sweet dessert that is served and sold by the scoopful.
Shortcut
As a shortcut, sometimes people will use Cool Whip and vanilla pudding mix. While you could use a pudding mix, making pudding from scratch is pretty easy. But the vanilla wafer is non-negotiable in banana pudding as is the sliced banana and the whipped topping.
Banana Cream Trifle: a Dessert for Special Occasions
Typically, a trifle uses cake pieces or cubes to layer with the pudding and curd or jam, but here the moniker is paired with a vanilla wafer as the substitute for cake. You could always make vanilla pudding using a vanilla pudding mix and then folding in the bananas.
Premium Sun-Maid and Orchard Choice Dried Figs are a delightful addition to the dessert. Use Golden Figs for a tangy, slightly nutty and more delicate fig flavor. Or, try Mission Figs for the more familiar fruit flavor.
This banana cream trifle recipe first roasts the banana to deepen the flavor. It’s a small adjustment but gives a richer flavor. Rather than cutting banana slices, you’ll place unpeeled bananas in the oven to bake until they are completely black. Then, remove them to cool for a few minutes.
Instead of using Cool Whip, we prefer freshly whipped cream.
How to Make the Vanilla Pudding Mixture
Making a pudding mixture involves cornstarch: it’s the star thickener and gets whisked into egg yolks and sugar until it resembles a smooth sunny yellow paste. In a saucepan, half-and-half warms with the remaining sugar and salt until simmering. The vanilla pudding mix comes together with patience and then quickly, so you’ll look for a few cues.
The next step for the banana trifle is critical: you’ll need to temper the egg mixture by pouring a splash of the hot half-and-half while whisking. Then, you’ll continue to pour in more of the hot half-and-half as you’re whisking. Sometimes, people will then take the next step of straining the hot pudding to catch any scrambled bits, but if you go slow at first in adding the hot liquid and continue whisking, you shouldn’t need to do this extra step. You’ll put the hot pudding mixture in the saucepan back over heat and whisk constantly until it thickens and resembles gravy. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
Tips for Making the Banana Pudding Trifle Recipe
Ripe bananas have a sweeter, more banana flavor. They are going to be baked to almost a very soft texture.
If your food processor bowl holds less than 11 cups, puree half the pudding with the roasted bananas and lemon juice in step 3, transfer it to a large bowl, and whisk in the rest of the pudding.
The vanilla wafers soften under all that pudding, whipped cream goodness. The banana cream trifle is a dessert served chilled and perfect for hot summer days!
You could garnish the top with banana slices or a vanilla wafer garnish can be pretty too—it is a banana trifle after all and there’s no such thing as too much fruit in trifle recipes.
Banana Pudding Trifle with Figs
Ingredients
Pudding
- 7 bananas large, slightly underripe
- 2 cups Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Figs stemmed and chopped into 1/4" pieces
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 8 egg yolks large
- 6 tbsp cornstarch
- 6 cups half-and-half
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 12 ounces vanilla wafers
Whipped Topping
- 1 cup heavy cream chilled
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Pudding
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Place 3 unpeeled bananas on baking sheet and bake until skins are completely black, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk 1⁄2 cup sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch in medium bowl until smooth. Bring half-and-half, remaining sugar, and salt to simmer over medium heat in large saucepan. Whisk 1⁄2 cup simmering half- and-half mixture into egg yolk mixture. Slowly whisk tempered yolk mixture into saucepan. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and large bubbles appear at surface, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
- Transfer pudding to food processor. Add warm peeled roasted bananas and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and process until smooth. Scrape into large bowl and place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding. Refrigerate until slightly cool, about 45 minutes.
- Cut remaining bananas into 1⁄4-inch slices and toss in bowl with remaining lemon juice. Spoon one-quarter of pudding into 3-quart trifle dish and top with layer of cookies, layer of sliced bananas, third of figs, and another layer of cookies. Repeat twice, ending with pudding. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate until wafers have softened, at least 8 hours or up to 2 days.
For the Whipped Topping
- With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. (Whipped cream can be refrigerated for 4 hours.) Top banana pudding with whipped cream. Serve.
Notes
Valley Fig Growers is a proud sponsor of Cook’s Country TV.
