A sweet, fluffy vanilla pudding, layered with Nilla wafers and banana slices – we’re making Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding today!

Son and I love traveling. We love going to new places, exploring new cities, trying new foods.

We’re just very bad at it.

There have been numerous occasions where we’ve gone to a new place, I’ve raved about it on instagram, and my friends are all like… Allison… you know we have one of those in LA, right?

Er.

Case in point, when we were in New York last year, wandering around looking for food on our first night there, we came across Magnolia Bakery. Son wanted to try it – he really likes going to bakeries when we travel – so I figured, why not?

The banana pudding seemed popular, so we brought some back to our hotel… and WE WERE OBSESSED.

It’s light and airy and oh so good… and did you know we have a Magnolia Bakery that sells this banana pudding in LA? NOBODY TELLS ME ANYTHING.

But you may be wondering, why, today of all days, are we making this banana pudding?

WELL.

It’s my birthday!!

And I had all these grand plans about making a chocolate layer cake with peanut butter frosting in between the layers…

And then we had a heat wave. And heck no I did not want to bake a layer cake, where I have to bake every layer separately because I have a tiny little oven, and then try to frost it and layer it without it being a total disaster… in the middle of a heat wave.

Nope.

But you know what’s really good when it’s hot outside, and requires neither the oven nor the stovetop? This pudding.

And you know what’s super easy to make and so addictively tasty that me and my entire family were obsessed with it when I first made it earlier this year? This pudding.

So who needs birthday cake, when you’ve got birthday pudding? Let’s cook!

I suggest starting the night before you want to eat it, because there is a good bit of waiting time for this recipe.

First, we make the pudding.

We’ll start with a 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk. It’s sweet, yes, but don’t worry – the final result won’t be cloying.

Mix that with a cup and a half of ice cold water, for about a minute with an electric hand mixer – until it’s completely combined.

Now add the pudding mix. Ideally, you should go with a 3.4oz package of Jell-O’s instant vanilla pudding mix – none of that sugar-free business today! That vanilla pudding flavor is what is really going to make this tasty. Mix that in really really well, for about 2 minutes or so, until it’s completely combined and starting to thicken.

Cover that with plastic wrap, and stick it in the fridge at least 3-4 hours, but ideally overnight.

The next morning!

Whip about 3 cups of heavy cream until you have stiff peaks. This is what will give the pudding a really light, airy consistency.

Once you have stiff peaks, gently fold in the pudding that you already made. Fold it until it’s completely combined – no streaks of pudding or whipped cream left.

Now it’s time to layer!

If you’re serving this at a party, then you’ll want to layer your pudding in a fairly large container, preferably glass so you can see all the pretty layers. However, I also often make smaller portions to give to friends and family, and that works perfectly well too!

Start with layer of Nilla wafers on the bottom. They’ll turn cakey and wonderfully soft as they sit in the pudding.

Then a layer of sliced bananas, for that classic banana pudding flavor.

Top that with a bit of the pudding.

Continue repeating layers until you reach the top of your container, ending with pudding at the top.

If you’d like, you can top this with crumbled Nilla wafers, BUT I would suggest waiting and adding this right before you serve, so they retain a little crunch!

But – it’s not time to eat quite yet. You want all these flavors to meld, and the Nilla wafers to soften. So put your layered pudding back in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but ideally no more than 8!

NOW it’s time to eat the tastiest, most addictive banana pudding you will ever have.

And hey, if you’re brand new to this channel, make sure to hit that sub button, and click the bell to turn on your notifications! We have SO much more tasty food coming up.

And if you want to give me an awesome birthday present where you don’t even have to spend a thing, share this video with your friends, with your family, with anyone you know who is addicted to Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding. It’s SO good, and it would make me so happy to see this reach even more people.

Now let’s eat!

Magnolia Bakery’s Famous Banana Pudding

from Secret Los Angeles

Ingredients

• one 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups ice-cold water
• one 3.4oz package Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups heavy cream
• one 12oz box Nabisco Nilla Wafers
• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

Cooking Directions

1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.
2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.
3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5 quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours—or up to 8 hours, but no longer!—before serving.

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