Banana Pudding Trifle

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If you’ve been to a picnic or a church Homecoming in the South there is one staple dessert that you will typically find, banana pudding. Banana pudding comes in many forms with arguments about using fresh custard or instant pudding and meringue or Cool Whip. I stumbled across this trifle dish last summer by Ali Doubek of Dancing through the Rain and it combines two of my favorite desserts; banana pudding and pound cake.

I’ve had pound cake with fresh fruit and whipping cream. I covered it with icing as a child. My all time favorite pound cake can be found in a bowl with homemade ice cream and Hershey syrup coating it. However I had never imagined putting banana pudding on top of it. Yet it is an amazing take on banana pudding that is delicious. So much so that I’ve taken it to share and ended up leaving the entire trifle dish and just taking home a me sized portion to enjoy later.

So if I’ve peaked your curiosity here’s what you need

• instant vanilla pudding
• milk
• Cool Whip
• bananas
• pound cake (homemade or store bought)
• whipped cream or more Cool Whip
• Nilla Wafers
• trifle dish

Before we start feel free to take this and adapt it. Every one has their favorite banana pudding recipe. Use the one you love and combine it with mine. I love homemade custard in banana pudding. However with two small children, instant pudding is just so much easier. Personally I prefer whipped cream or Cool Whip on top, but if you like meringue by all means get to whipping those egg whites. I’ll just scrape it off if I put it on.

But I don’t own a trifle dish

No worries, just use a big bowl. I discovered when I first made this that my trifle dish is smaller than what I needed. So half of my recipe goes in the pretty trifle and the other half goes in a Pioneer Woman mixing bowl that has a lid. Which works out well because I can take and share but also keep some at home. I don’t know about you but banana pudding is an excellent breakfast.

Instant pudding first or homemade custard if you prefer

First you need to make the pudding mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 3.4 oz pkgs of instant vanilla pudding and 4 cups of milk. Then place the bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes to soft set. After 5 minutes mix in one 8 oz tub of Cool Whip with the pudding mixture. Once it is well mixed place it back in the fridge for 5 more minutes.

While the pudding sets, open up your Nilla Wafers and line the bottom of the dish with them. Peel and slice your bananas. The original recipe called for 5 bananas. I used 7 bananas and I probably could’ve used one more. Just be careful when you buy your bananas to buy more if they’re small. If you end up with too many bananas you could always make banana cake or banana muffins. Once you have them sliced, place a layer around the sides of the dish sitting on top of the Nilla Wafers.

Next up is pudding again

After the pudding mixture has been in the fridge for 5 minutes take it back out. Put one half of the pudding mixture in the trifle dish being careful to not mess up the bottom or sides. Spread it around so it is even or as even as you can get it. Then add a layer of bananas on top of the pudding. ***If you have a large trifle you may need to use 1/3 of your pudding instead of 1/2.

Pound cake time!

Take out your pound cake and cut it into slices. If you bought a loaf from the grocery store cut it in half down the middle and cut each side so you have about 13 pieces on each side. If you made or bought a bundt cake just cut it in slices and cut the slices in half. Start by putting pieces around the sides of the dish and then fill up the middle. I made a cold oven cake this time because it was faster (no butter softening needed) but the pound cake recipe is really good in it too. If you’re in a pinch a store bought pound cake will work just as well.

This is where it gets tricky

Not all trifle dishes are the same size. I have a small one. So at this point I put on the remaining pudding, another layer of bananas, and bananas around the side. However if you have a larger one, you could do 1/2 of the pudding you have left, bananas, another layer of pound cake, the remaining pudding, and then a layer of bananas. If you’re not sure make it like I did and see how much space you have left. If you’ve got a lot of space next time add more layers. Or don’t worry about it and throw the extra in a bowl for you!

Add some pound cake in the space remaining. Use your whipped cream or extra Cool Whip to fill in the spaces around the pound cake and put some in the middle. Use the remaining bananas and Nilla Wafers to make it look pretty. If you’re using whipping cream or Ready Whip you need to wait and add it right before you serve it. The whipping cream will melt into the pudding after a while.

That’s it! Look at your pretty creation!

This is the perfect recipe to take to a summer party or Homecoming at church. It looks really pretty and tastes amazing! I typically have some pudding and pound cake leftover at this point. So I throw what’s left in a bowl, mix it up, and have me a snack without messing up my pretty dessert to share. Or if I’m making it while the kids are awake, I sacrifice my bowl to the starving children.