This banana pudding recipe is party size, so cut it in half if you are feeding less than a small army of people. Plan to let the pudding sit in the refrigerator between 3 hours to overnight for optimal flavor.
2 packages of 5 oz Jello Instant Pudding, Vanilla
2 2/3 cups of Whole Milk
2 (14oz) cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
4 cups of Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons vanilla extract or paste
1 large box of Nilla wafers
8 bananas, sliced into coins
3 teaspoons of granulated sugar
Start by combing the milk, pudding mix, and sweetened condensed milk and stir until incorporated with no lumps. Cover, refrigerate, and let set. Once set, it will be THICK.
Put heavy cream and vanilla into a mixing bowl and beat until firm peaks form, maybe 3 minutes. Save 1 cup for topping.
Your pudding mix will be thick, so I usually whisk it to fluff it up and make it easier to fold in the whipped cream. Once you have the pudding to a more aerated texture, fold in the whipped cream. Line a trifle, baking pan or large bowl with Nilla wafers, then a layer pudding, then bananas, then wafer and over and over until full. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir sugar into the remaining whipped cream and top the pudding. Add Nilla wafer crumbs for decoration and texture.
***Completely optional: I also grab a bottle of Ghiradelli Caramel Sauce and drizzle it on the Nilla wafers in between the layers for added sweetness and flavor.
Lauren Townsend for The AHA Connection
