Banana pudding cheesecake
Spring and summer is upon us,
and when the weather warms up who honestly wants to turn on their oven to cook, or to even bake. Even so my sweet tooth demands a dessert, and oftentimes I like to find solace from the sun with a cool sweet treat.
There’s the classic go to of ice cream, sorbet, or popsicles, but let's add cheesecake to the mix.
Don’t get me wrong, a classic baked cheesecake holds a special place in my heart, but the no bake cheesecake can come together in under 30 minutes (if you don’t count the chill time) and can be easily as diverse.
Like this his no-bake banana pudding cheesecake. It's the best part of both desserts.
No-bake banana pudding cheesecake
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200g) Nilla wafers
- 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 4 Tbsp (56g) unsalted butter, melted
- 16oz cream cheese (465g), room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) white granulated sugar
- 1 box (3.4oz) banana cream pudding mix
- 2 cups (430g) heavy whipping cream
- 2 medium bananas, sliced crosswise
- 1 cup (100g) Nilla wafers
Instructions
- Make the crust by crushing the Nila wafers into a fine crumb by using a food processor, or by placing the wafers in a gallon ziplock bag and gently crushing them.
- In a medium bowl add the wafer crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and salt. Mix until it is sand like in texture.
- Pour into a 9 inch springform pan, and tightly press into the bottom of the pan. Use a flat bottom kitchen item like a measuring cup to get the crust as even as possible.
- Place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
- In a medium sized bowl add the heavy cream and whisk on high using a stand or hand mixer until stiff peaks are formed. For about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large sized bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar, and banana cream pudding mix, until smooth. Mixture will be thick.
- Fold in heavy whipping cream until fully combined, making sure to scrape down the sides. I alternate between folding in with a rubber spatula, and using the hand mixture. When I get a majority of the whipped cream incorporated I use the hand mixture to get the filling creamy and smooth.
- Remove crust from the freezer and scoop a few heaping spoonfuls of the banana cream filling. Smooth out with a rubber or offset spatula.
- Add a layer of sliced bananas. Try to cover the entire surface area of the layer of filling.
- Scoop a few more heaping spoonfuls of filling on top of the banana slices and carefully smooth out with spatula.
- Add a layer of Nilla wafers, and then top it with the remainder of the banana cream filling, and smooth out with the spatula.
- Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight to set the filling.
- Before serving, remove the rim from the springform pan and cut into desired slices.
Notes
You can make thinner layers of banana cream filling, sliced bananas, and wafer thinner and alternate the layering until all the banana cream filling is used.
Cheesecake can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
