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No-Bake Banana Split Cake Dessert Recipe
by Michelle Norris

No-Bake Banana Split Cake Dessert

No-Bake Banana Split Dessert – Graham cracker crust, cream cheese, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate & a cherry!

Each year, around Easter, I start to get a hankering for this no-bake banana split dessert, which is peculiar to me, because I can only remember eating it once or twice ever, and that was at least 10 or 15 years ago. For some reason, it has stuck in my mind and I associate it with Easter. It’s quite possible that my mom made it for an Easter dessert a couple of years in a row, and then moved on to something else. A few years ago I finally asked my mom if she had the recipe for the “banana split dessert thing” that she made a long time ago, and she was able to dig it up for me. It took me approximately 2.2 seconds to assemble what I needed and I’ve been enjoying it periodically ever since!

First things first, let me break this banana split dessert down for you. Most importantly – it’s entirely no-bake. Absolutely no oven time is required, which makes it perfect for the summer when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen, and also perfect for when you need a quick dessert that you can throw together in very little time. Poof! Done! Now, for the layers… It starts off with a graham cracker crust, topped with a cream cheese-mousse, and then layers of banana, pineapple, strawberries, and finally whipped cream, nuts, chocolate, and cherries on top! Talk about the ultimate banana split.

Now, a strange thing happened when I ran through the recipe the first time, and I had to do a double take. The layer above the graham cracker frosting consisted of butter, powdered sugar, and 2 eggs. EXCEPT… the eggs weren’t heated like a custard, and this dessert isn’t baked, so they’re just in there, raw. ::shudder:: I couldn’t do it, so after thinking through some workarounds, including a pastry cream layer or something like a pudding, I finally decided to use the filling from another of my favorite old-school desserts – the Strawberry Pretzel Salad. I went full steam ahead with that, and it works absolutely brilliantly in this recipe.

Don’t wait for a special reason to make this dessert, and certainly don’t wait years in between. Any ordinary day is special enough for this incredibly easy no-bake banana split dessert.

Four years ago: Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

RECIPE FOR NO-BAKE BANANA SPLIT DESSERT:

No-Bake Banana Split Cake Dessert

Yield: 12 to 16 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

No-Bake Banana Split Dessert - Graham cracker crust, cream cheese, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate & a cherry!

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

Directions:

1. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter, stirring until all of the crumbs are evenly moistened. Dump the crumbs into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Refrigerate while you prepare the next layer.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the Cool Whip until thoroughly combined. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the graham cracker crust.

4. Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on top of the cream cheese filling, top with an even layer of the crushed pineapple, and then an even layer of the sliced strawberries.

5. Cover with the Cool Whip, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts, then drizzle with chocolate syrup and top with maraschino cherries. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Note: If you would prefer not to use Cool Whip, you can use fresh whipped cream in its place, both for the filling and the topping.

This recipe was originally published on April 25, 2012.