Layered Banana Pudding Trifle

One Christmas while I was in college my family went to New York City.  On that trip I won second row tickets to Wicked which was just getting popular. Idina Menzel completely blew me away.  I think I actually stopped breathing for a few minutes because I was so amazed by her.  I will never forget that show. 

It was a fantastic trip, but I have one regret.  I missed out on Magnolia Bakery, and their banana pudding.

Fortunately, the recipe is all over the place. When I first looked at it I thought no way was it legit.  It uses sweetened condensed milk and vanilla pudding mix for heaven's sake.  How is this world renowned??

I decided to give it a try anyways and I'm completely repentant.  It's so delicious.  Super sweet, but also the very definition of comfort food. I'm fairly certain that a trip to New York City is in order, just to determine the authenticity of this recipe, but this will have to do until then!

 

****

This pudding takes some patience.  The initial pudding needs to be chilled for 4 hours, and once it is layered with bananas it needs to be chilled for 8 hours.  Plan ahead and just know that it will be worth it. 

You can knit cat socks in the meantime.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

I just posted my basic buttercream recipe and though these recipes are very similar, I use both of them for different things, so I think they each deserve their own spot in the limelight. 

This one is fluffier and lighter due to the long whipping time.  It takes a little longer to make but makes a smoother, lighter, buttercream.  I like it better for frosting cupcakes.

For my cakes, or when I need a stiff frosting for piping, I use the basic buttercream I posted yesterday.  These recipes are basics but they are too good not to share.  I use them over and over again!

Tip- If you want to get your vanilla frosting super-white, just add a little white food coloring.  I have a big bottle of AmeriColor white and I love it!  It takes away yellow-tinges from butter, and brown tinges from vanilla extract.  For just a few dollars I feel like it makes a big difference in how my frosting looks. 

Best Basic Buttercream Frosting

I like to make birthdays a big deal at our house.  I used to do elaborate cakes that literally took days to make.  We're talking a life-sized guitar cake, a firetruck with a burning building that actually smoked, cakes that hung from the ceiling...  INSANITY, my friends.

While I still love to make crazy cakes, they were taking so.much.time.  And one day it occurred to me that I could spend just one day making a cake and throw a bunch of toys on top and my kids would be equally as awed and excited.

So now I'm a "one-day cake" kind of girl, and now I get to actually see my kids the week of their birthdays which is kind of cool.

Anyways, this is the cake I made my 4 year old several months ago for his birthday.  The frosting is a basic buttercream that I use almost anytime I need buttercream.  It has some heavy cream in it so it whips up a little lighter than traditional buttercream and it pipes well. This is definitely one to bookmark and use any time you need a quick, delicious, buttercream.

Mint Oreo Brownies

I went to BYU, home of the mint brownie, so really this recipe was inevitable.  They don't completely replicate the brownies that sustained me through 4 years of college but they have Oreos and hot fudge so what more can I ask?  These are a must-make!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

This summer we took our kids to a dairy farm in Idaho called Reed's Dairy.  It really is a farm..  tons of cows, pigs, sheep, goats, kittens running around..  And right in the middle of all that is a little shop with some of the creamiest ice cream I've ever had, and the best chocolate milk in all the land. It's a weird experience- going to a place that smells like cows and ordering up a triple scoop, but you kind of get used to the smell...

Ice cream is a big deal in our family.  We eat it as much as possible and then some.  The kids usually order cotton candy or bubblegum, and I can usually be found with about 5 scoops of rocky road, but my husband always gets butter pecan.  Always.

This one's for him.


Note- This recipe takes several days to make, so make sure you read through the recipe in advance so you're prepared!