Banana Pudding Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake to take over to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving a couple years ago. It was just a couple months after Elayne was born, and I hadn’t had much time to bake. So I really wanted to try something new and different. And my in-laws were in town helping with Elayne, so it was a good time to do it.

I don’t usually make many cheesecakes. Up until a few years ago, I actually wasn’t a big fan of cheesecake. But my husband really likes it, and it has grown on me. And since Tommy isn’t big on many desserts, I wanted to make something that he would eat too. Plus, how can you go wrong with banana pudding?

It was a little more time-consuming, as most cheesecakes are. But definitely worth the extra effort.

You need to start by making the crust. Crush up the vanilla wafers, and combine them with the melted butter, sugar, and salt. Once the crust ingredients are all mixed together, press them into the bottom of a springform pan. Then, take the whole vanilla wafers, and place them around the rim of the pan. The wafers do like to fall over easily, so I had to gently push them down into the crust a little to help them stay up. Once the wafers are all in place, bake the crust at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, until it’s lightly golden. Set the crust aside while you make the cheesecake filling.

To make the cheesecake filling, place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream these together until they form a smooth consistency. Next, add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix well until all ingredients are incorporated. Then, add in the eggs, one at a time, and mixing between each addition.

Pour half of the cheesecake filling in the springform pan. Top the filling with the chopped vanilla wafers and sliced bananas. Then pour the remaining cheesecake filling into the pan.

Wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil. Then place the springform pan into a larger pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan, about ¾-inches deep. The reason we do this is because the added moisture will help prevent the cheesecake from drying out and cracking.

Next, bake the cheesecake for 60-70 minutes, until the center is almost set. When it is finished baking, the center will still jiggle slightly, but the edges will be set. Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Then, very carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake from the edges. Don’t release the springform pan yet. Just loosen the edges, and allow the cake to cool to room temperature for about an hour. After the cake has cooled, cover it and place it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours to set fully.

Once the cake has fully chilled, you can add the toppings and decorate! First, we need to make the whipped cream. I highly recommend making the whipped cream and decorating as close to serving time as possible. I know this isn’t always feasible when taking dessert to someone else’s house. But the reason I recommend this is because the whipped cream will deflate over time. So if the decorated cake has been sitting in the fridge for a few hours, it may not look quite as pretty once it’s time to be served. But it’ll taste delicious either way!!

For the whipped cream, pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer. I like the chill the bowl in the freezer for a little bit first. I find the keeping the cream as cold as possible will help it form into a nice, thick whipped cream. Add the powdered sugar to the cream. With a whisk attachment fitted to your mixer, mix on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. When bakers say “until stiff peaks form”, this is what we mean: When you lift your whisk out of the cream, it’ll naturally peak up where the whisk was lifted out. If that peak holds shape and does not sink back into the cream, that is a stiff peak, and your whipped cream is ready.

Now you get to decorate! I recommend spooning the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large and pretty tip. This way, you can pipe the whipped cream in swirls or other pretty designs. However, if you don't have a pastry bag and decorating tips, or if you're short on time, you could always just spoon the cream into little globs on the cake, or you could spread a layer of whipped cream on top like a frosting. Finally, place vanilla wafers on top and drizzle with caramel sauce. You can choose to decorate in any way you like. I chose to do little swirls of whipped cream around the perimeter of the cake, and then I placed a vanilla wafer at the edge of each swirl. And then I decided that the middle looked too bare, so I added a larger swirl of whipped cream in the middle. Then I drizzled caramel sauce over the entire cake. I think it turned out pretty well 😊