Banana Split Dessert

July 19, 2012Teresa Ambra

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Banana Split Dessert is one of the most wonderful desserts you will ever taste. Itis so yummy and delicious! What’s not to like about banana splits? If you like ice cream-style Banana splits, you will love this dessert. It has a graham cracker layer, then a frosting/pudding/cheesecake layer, followed bya banana layer, a pineapple layer, then a cool whip layer. Finally, it’s topped with walnuts and maraschino cherries. Wonderful!

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This is an amazingly spectacular dessert. It’s creamy texture is so luscious, but then it has just enough crunch from the crust, walnuts and the maraschino cherries to make it really scrumptious and mouth watering. This is a great dessert for any time of the year but it is really extra special during the holidays or Valentine’s Day. With the beautiful red cherries on top this dessert looks so elegant and presents really nicely for company.

I have no idea where this recipe originated. I’ve seen it all over the Internet and in several of my cookbooks. This recipe was given to me by Beth Stanley when we living in Florida in the 1980s. Beth and Ted were friends of ours from our Sunday school class.

I’ve changed the recipe up a bit. Originally, you are supposed to cream a powdered sugar mixture for 20 minutes! Yes, that’s right, 20 minutes! After doing this once, with no difference between the texture from what it was after about a minute of mixing, I stopped mixing that part more than just what it takes to be creamy. (This did not expand like beating egg whites).

Our family loves this delicious dessert. We think you will enjoy it to. For a spectacular holiday dessert you need to try this out some time.

When I initially posted this recipe in July 2012, and then updated again in January 2013, I was using an iPhone 3 for a camera. My pictures were not as sharp as I would have liked and they had a few too many props.

I recently remade this recipe (December 2016) for a Christmas party for our Sunday school class. Banana Split Dessertwas a winner! Everyone wanted a piece and even the kids were eating multiple slices of this delectable dessert.

I recommend making dessertthis the day you plan to serve it, otherwise the bananas will start darkening. If you are looking for a wonderful company dessert look no farther. You won’t be able to stop drooling over this one!

Banana Split Dessert is festive, beautiful andan excellent choice for special occasions.

This side view shows the layers.

Banana Split Dessertis elegant enough forholiday entertaining like Christmas, New Years or Valentine’s Day.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients.

Melt butter in bowl.Add graham cracker crumbs.Stir all ingredients together.

Press crumbs down into a 9×13″ glass baking dish.

Soften butter in mixing bowl.Add eggs,vanilla and powdered sugar.

Cream all ingredients together with an electric mixer.

Spread the mixture over top of the graham cracker crust.

The next layer is bananas. While the recipe doesn’t call for you to soak the bananas in lemon juice, I swirl the sliced bananas in a little juice and then pat dry with paper towels before layering the bananas on top of the dish. This way the bananas won’t discolor as quickly.

Place two layers of bananas on top of previous layer. This is about 8 bananas.

Drain crushed pineapple. Press all the pineapple juice out through the holes in a colander.Sprinkle pineapple over top of bananas.

Spread Cool Whip over top of pineapple layer.Add toasted coconut and finely diced pecans or walnuts.

Add maraschino cherries. Rinse maraschino cherries and pat dry so the cherry juice doesn’t stain the cool whip.Add maraschino cherries on top. Refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Now Banana Split Dessert is ready to serve!

Each bite of Banana Split Dessert is filled with pineapple, cherries and bananas. Wow!

Everyone loves Banana Split Dessert. It’s like eating Banana Splits without the ice cream!It’s time to eat a slab of this delicious dessert!

Here’s the recipe.

(Recipe adapted from Beth Stanley, when we attended First Baptist Church Indian Rocks, Largo, FL)

Teresa Ambra

Banana Split Dessert is an outstanding vintage recipe. This festive, gorgeous dessert is like eating a banana split with a cheesecake layer instead of ice cream. It's filled with bananas, pineapple, toasted coconut, maraschino cherries and walnuts or pecans. Delightful for holidays and special occasions.

4 from 20 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15

Calories 488 kcal

Equipment

1 9x13" glass baking dish
1 small mixing bowl
1 wooden spoon
1 large mixing bowl
1 electric mixer
1 small cookie sheet to toast coconut
1 toaster oven or regular oven to toast coconut
1 nut chopper if nuts are not previously chopped

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp. unsalted butter melted
2 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter softened (1 cup)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
7-8 large ripe bananas sliced and dipped in lemon juice to prevent discoloration; I used 8 bananas
16 oz. can crushed pineapple drained
12 oz. container TruWhip or other non-dairy whipped topping
1 cup crushed walnuts or pecans
10 oz. jar maraschino cherries drained, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 cup coconut toasted

Instructions

Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a small mixing bowl.
Press into 9x13” pan.
Combine powdered sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla and mix well with an electric mixer.
Pour over graham cracker crust.
Layer bananas, (8 bananas make about 2 layers of the bananas), then add drained, crushed pineapple over top.
Spread non-dairy whipped topping over top.
Sprinkle with walnuts or pecans and toasted coconut.
Rinse, drain and pat dry the cherries. (The cherries must be dry or they will leak into the whipped topping.)
Place maraschino cherries on top.
Refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Notes

NOTE:I recommend serving this dessert the same day you make it rather than the following day so the bananas stay fresh.

NOTE:Preparation time does not include time necessary to refrigerate dessert before serving.

NOTE: The original recipe called for mixing the powdered sugar layer for 20 minutes. I didn’t feel like this accomplished anything for the consistency of the layer, so I usually only mix for 5 minutes.

NOTE: This vintage recipe does use uncooked eggs in the layers.

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 488kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 5gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 105mgPotassium: 370mgFiber: 4gSugar: 43gVitamin A: 643IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 1mg

Keyword bananas, cherries, cherry dessert, coconut, cream cheese, dessert, pineapple, pineapple dessert

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

[b]Banana Split Dessert[/b]

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Teresa Ambra adapted from Beth Stanley when we attended First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, Largo, FL

Prep time: 30 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 15

This festive, gorgeous dessert is like eating a banana split with a cheesecake layer instead of ice cream. It’s filled with bananas, pineapple, maraschino cherries and walnuts.

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp. melted butter or margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks softened butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
7 bananas, sliced and dipped in lemon juice to prevent discoloration (I used 8 bananas)
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained
12-oz. container cool whip (I used a 16-oz. container)
1 cup crushed walnuts
1 small jar maraschino cherries

Instructions

Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.
Press into 9×13” pan.
Combine powdered sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Pour over graham cracker crust.
Layer bananas, (8 bananas make about 2 layers of the bananas), then drained crushed pineapple over top.
Spread cool whip over top.
Then sprinkle with walnuts and place cherries on top.
Refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Notes

I recommend serving this dessert the same day you make it rather than the following day so the bananas stay fresh.[br][br]If you like coconut, you can add that before the walnut layer.[br][br]Preparation time does not include time necessary to refrigerate dessert before serving.

Try Banana Split Dessert the next time you need to make a special occasion dessert.

Doesn’t Banana Split Dessert look terrific?

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