Best Banana Split Dessert Ever

Mmmm, banana splits.  What a treat.  Dan and I used to share one back in our dating days which was about the time the dinosaurs roamed the earth.  Yes, they had banana splits then too.  I never could eat a whole banana split, it was just too much ice cream for me.  I know, I know, I am one of the strange people of the world who doesn't like a lot of ice cream.  Dan on the other hand is a completely different story.  Sometimes I refer to him as Dan, Dan the ice cream man.  He literally could eat ice cream every day.  

But let's talk banana split desserts!  Now these are a totally different story because this is not made from ice cream, but is scrumptious for lack of a better word.  It is truly OH EM GEE good.  I made this dessert on Easter Sunday and it was a major hit - I mean M A J O R!  My daughter told me her husband wondered if we were still up at 10 pm that night because he was willing to drive all the way across town just to have some more of his new favorite dessert!  Made me laugh out loud for sure.  He has celiac and I made this gluten free for him so he could enjoy dessert too.  Will certainly be making it again, like this weekend for Dan's big Medicare birthday.  Now you know how old he is.  

Look at this dessert in the pan.  It's hard to see all the wonderful layers, but it is fabulous.  Just sayin'.  

There are nuts, chocolate, vanilla, bananas, strawberries, cream cheese and whipped cream with that fabulous crunchy chocolate crumbled on top.  The only thing it doesn't have is pineapple and a cherry.  Oh well, feel free to add that if you want.  Personally, I don't think you will miss it one bit.

The crunchy chocolate topping is this:

I buy these at World Market and they are less than $3.00 a container.  I think Target may have them too, I'm not positive.  They are thin chocolate wafers with a crunchy crisp in them made from rice flour so they are also gluten free!  Fantastic.  You don't have to save the for toppings, they make a wonderful little "taste of chocolate" when you need one.

Here is what you need for this dessert:

Crust:

1 cup flour (I used Bisquick gluten free baking mix)

3 TBSP granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup chopped pecans

Melt butter, and mix with other ingredients.  Press into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.  Bake at 350 until light brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Cream cheese layer:

2 cups cream cheese ( 16 ounces)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup cool whip or whipped cream

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with mixer until smooth.  Fold in cool whip.

Banana layer.

Slice 4 - 5 medium bananas and cover bottom crust layer.  Cover with cream cheese layer.

Vanilla Pudding layer:

2 small boxes Vanilla instant pudding

3 cups milk

Mix vanilla pudding with milk and pour over cream cheese layer.

Strawberry layer:

Slice fresh strawberries and cover top of vanilla pudding layer.  I used about 20 strawberries.

Chocolate Pudding layer:

2 small boxes Chocolate instant pudding

3 cups milk

Mix chocolate pudding with milk and pour over strawberry layer.

Cover chocolate pudding layer with 2 cups of Cool Whip or whipped cream.   

Cover Cool Whip with shaved chocolate or break up pieces of Belgian Chocolate Wafers.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now, cut the dessert into squares, put them on a plate and watch them disappear!  Holy cow, this one goes in a big hurry and it is  so easy to make.  Yum.  Yum.   Yum.  Can't wait till Dan's birthday Saturday to enjoy another piece of this fabulous Best Banana Split Dessert Ever!  I know Chris will be happy!!  Don't wait too long to try this one!  It will be a hit and will be requested again and again.  

Everyday Donna

Things to remember:

Life is short, don't buy green bananas!