NO BAKE BANANA SPLIT DESSERT

No Bake Banana Split Dessert is a classic! It layers a graham cracker crust, cream cheese-based filling, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate & a cherry on top!

Each year, around Easter, I start to get a hankering for this no bake banana split dessert, which is peculiar to me, because I can only remember eating it once or twice ever, and that was at least 10 or 15 years ago. For some reason, it has stuck in my mind and I associate it with Easter. It’s quite possible that my mom made it for an Easter dessert a couple of years in a row, and then moved on to something else. A few years ago I finally asked my mom if she had the recipe for the “banana split dessert thing” that she made a long time ago, and she was able to dig it up for me. It took me approximately 2.2 seconds to assemble what I needed and I’ve been enjoying it at least a couple of times a year ever since!

First things first, let me break this banana split dessert down for you.

Most importantly – it’s entirely no-bake. Absolutely no oven time is required, which makes it perfect for the summer when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen, and also perfect for when you need a quick dessert that you can throw together in very little time. Poof! Done!

Now, for the layers… It starts off with a graham cracker crust, topped with a cream cheese-mousse, and then layers of banana, pineapple, strawberries, and finally whipped cream, nuts, chocolate, and cherries on top! Talk about the ultimate banana split.

Now, a strange thing happened when I ran through the recipe the first time, and I had to do a double take. The layer above the graham cracker frosting consisted of butter, powdered sugar, and 2 eggs. EXCEPT… the eggs weren’t heated like a custard, and this dessert isn’t baked, so they’re just in there, raw. ::shudder::  I couldn’t do it, so after thinking through some workarounds, including a pastry cream layer or making it with pudding, I finally decided to use the filling from another of my favorite old-school desserts – the Strawberry Pretzel Salad. I went full steam ahead with that, and it works absolutely brilliantly in this recipe.

Don’t wait for a special reason to make this dessert, and certainly don’t wait years in between. Any ordinary day is special enough for this incredibly easy no bake banana split dessert.

NO BAKE BANANA SPLIT DESSERT

yield:

12 TO 16 SERVINGS

prep:

30 MINUTES

total:

4 HOURS 30 MINUTES

A classic! Layers of graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate & a cherry on top!

INGREDIENTS:

For the Crust:

2 cups (198 grams) graham cracker crumbs

½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted

For the Cream Cheese Layer:

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

8 ounces Cool Whip

For the Fruit & Toppings:

3 to 4 bananas, sliced

1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained well

16 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced

8 ounces Cool Whip

½ cup (57 grams) walnuts, chopped

Chocolate syrup

Maraschino cherries

DIRECTIONS:

Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter with a fork, stirring until all of the crumbs are evenly moistened. Dump the crumbs into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Refrigerate while you prepare the next layer.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the Cool Whip until thoroughly combined. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the graham cracker crust.

Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on top of the cream cheese filling, top with an even layer of the crushed pineapple, and then an even layer of the sliced strawberries.

Cover with the Cool Whip, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts, then drizzle with chocolate syrup and top with maraschino cherries. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

RECIPE NOTES:

You can use fresh whipped cream in place of the Cool Whip, both for the filling and the topping. If you do, plan on only keeping the leftovers for up to 2 days, as the fresh whipped cream will become watery as it sits in the refrigerator.

source: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/no-bake-banana-split-cake-dessert/