{"id":437,"date":"2025-10-31T10:32:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T10:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=437"},"modified":"2025-10-31T10:32:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T10:32:13","slug":"this-5-ingredient-banana-pudding-is-so-good-my-husband-requests-it-on-his-birthday-every-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=437","title":{"rendered":"This 5-Ingredient Banana Pudding Is So Good, My Husband Requests It On His Birthday Every Year"},"content":{"rendered":"


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My husband, Gavin, isn\u2019t a big birthday person. But for years, he had one request in lieu of a cake: a banana cream pie. So on August 25, for nearly a decade, I made the Banana-Cream Pie recipe<\/a> from the beloved neighborhood caf\u00e9 Clementine in Los Angeles, adapted by Jennifer Steinhauser for The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It was a ritual: I\u2019d smash graham crackers for the crust, make custard on the stovetop for the pastry cream,\u00a0let the mixture chill, assemble the pie with bananas, and top the masterpiece with birthday candles. While I still adore the recipe, it was a labor of love that became challenging to pull off once we welcomed our son, Jack, into the world a couple of years ago. So instead of forgoing the tradition, I started making an easier dessert with similar rich and comforting flavors: banana pudding.\n<\/p>\n

The no-bake pivot was a hit and became our new tradition on Gavin\u2019s birthday. And because the five-ingredient banana pudding recipe is so simple, we make it multiple times a year.\n<\/p>\n

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What Makes This Banana Pudding Recipe Special? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n

Patricia Kaowthumrong<\/p>\n

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\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gavin\u2019s birthday banana pudding recipe is very similar to other great ones, incorporating packaged instant pudding mix, milk, bananas, and store-bought cookies. Instead of vanilla wafers, though, I like to use Biscoff cookies, which have a gently spiced, caramelized flavor that pairs perfectly with the bananas and pudding. But if you prefer vanilla wafers, graham crackers, or chocolate cookies, don\u2019t let that stop you! Those are all tasty options I\u2019ve had success with.\n<\/p>\n

A sprinkling of roasted, salted peanuts is the other addition that makes the banana pudding a quintessential Gavin<\/em> dish. He puts peanuts on everything, from pho to chicken salad, often to my dismay. But in this case, it definitely works, adding a crunchy, nutty element to the classic dish.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My Husband\u2019s Birthday Banana Pudding <\/span> <\/h2>\n

Any flavor of pudding will work (chocolate is also a favorite). If you don\u2019t have a 9×13 dish, don’t worry: it can be layered in two pie tins to a giant glass bowl.\u00a0Anything goes\u2014it\u2019s the thought and flavors that count.\n<\/p>\n

Ingredients <\/span> <\/h3>\n
    \n
  • 1 (5-ounce) package instant vanilla\u00a0<\/li>\n
  • 2.5 cups cold milk<\/li>\n
  • 1 (8-ounce) package Biscoff cookies<\/li>\n
  • 1 (16-ounce) container frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed<\/li>\n
  • 4 large bananas<\/li>\n
  • Roasted, salted peanuts (optional), for serving<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Directions <\/span> <\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Prepare your pudding:<\/strong> Whisk the pudding into the cold milk in a large bowl until smooth; place a layer of plastic wrap on directly on top of the pudding and let it set in the refrigerator for a couple hours.<\/li>\n
    • Assemble your dessert:<\/strong> Line the bottom of a 9×13-inch dish (or whatever dish you\u2019d like to use) with Biscoff cookies. Spread a layer of pudding over them and then top with sliced bananas. Then repeat with another layer of cookies, pudding and sliced bananas.<\/li>\n
    • Crown with cream: <\/strong>Spread the thawed whipped cream on top of the dish and finish with a sprinkle of crushed cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve (ideally overnight so the flavors can meld together).\u00a0 Serve with peanuts!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n


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      My husband, Gavin, isn\u2019t a big birthday person. But for years, he had one request in lieu of a cake: a banana cream pie. So on August 25, for nearly a decade, I made the Banana-Cream Pie recipe from the beloved neighborhood caf\u00e9 Clementine in Los Angeles, adapted by Jennifer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}