Easy Banana Cream Dessert

If you like banana cream pie, you will love this Easy Banana Cream Dessert. This dessert is so simple, my preschooler can make it! There are layers of vanilla wafers, vanilla pudding, sliced bananas and a healthy dose of real whipped cream for the topping.

If you would like to make the pudding from scratch, you certainly can. In the summer, my kids are always in the kitchen, and dying to make something all by themselves. This layered dessert is the ticket for curious kitchen assistants. Hands on time in the kitchen with my grandmas, parents and sister happen to be the most vivid memories of mine. I want to give my kids that experience too, and letting them take the reins and watching them make something themselves is so enjoyable. (Until your four year old son wants to put seasoned salt in the vanilla pudding mixture.)

When I make desserts that use ‘boxed mix’ ingredients, like pudding mixes instead of the ‘real thing’, I like to make sure that the rest of my ingredients are high quality. There are three important products in this recipe that come from our Iowa standby, AE Dairy: AE Heavy Whipping Cream, AE 2% Milk and AE Sour Cream and they take center stage in this dessert.
Oh, and don’t even think about swapping this delicious stuff for anything else… this guy can tell. We are definitely spoiled to have these delicious dairy products within 1o miles of our house, and on the shelves in no time once the milk leaves the farm on the milk truck.

I mean look at that whipped cream… it is holding it’s shape so gorgeously, thanks to one ingredient…

SOUR CREAM

Yes, you heard me correctly. Stop me if you’ve heard me chirp about this before, but it is a great baking tip to add a teaspoon or two of sour cream per cup of heavy cream that you whip for any particular recipe. Sour cream stabilizes the whipped cream and helps it keep shape, especially helpful if you are piping it onto a pie. Plus, I add powdered sugar to the topping in this recipe and the sour cream helps offset some of that sweetness.

Until the next recipe… you can find us in the barn or at the ball park!

Learn more about AE Dairy and connect with them on Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube for great recipe ideas and news of exciting new products coming down the pipeline. You can find me hoarding AE Buttermilk and Toasted Onion Sour Cream Dip any time of the year!

Easy Banana Cream Dessert

By: Cristen     FoodandSwine.com
Makes one 2 1/2 quart casserole or 1 9×13 inch pan of dessert
8-12 servings

Ingredients:

Two large packages (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding
4 1/2 cups AE 2% Milk, well chilled
50 vanilla wafers
4 large bananas, slightly ripe yet firm, sliced
1 1/2 cups AE Heavy Whipping Cream, well chilled
2 tsp AE Sour Cream, well chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar

To a large mixing bowl, add two pudding packets and milk. Whisk for 2 minutes. Set aside.

To glass pan or casserole dish, layer half of the vanilla wafers, sliced bananas and pudding. Repeat with remaining half of ingredients, making sure entire dessert is covered with pudding layer so bananas are not exposed (so bananas don’t brown).

In a separate mixing bowl, beat cream, sour cream, vanilla and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of dessert gently. Chill for 1 hour at least, or up to 8 hours.
Serve chilled.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of AE Dairy. The opinions and text are all mine.