This cheerful blog post shares my favorite delicious banana split trifle recipe. It’s so easy to make and perfect for impressing a crowd!
What Exactly is a Trifle?
A trifle is a beautiful layered dessert with fruit, cake, and creamy custard. This banana split version layers all the flavors of an ice cream sundae for a showstopping treat.
Why I Love This Banana Split Trifle
The soft, moist cake, sweet vanilla pudding, fresh banana and strawberry slices, and toasted nuts create an irresistible flavor combination. Topped with maraschino cherries, it looks straight out of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor!
How to Shop for Ingredients
It’s easy to get cash back on the simple ingredients using the Ibotta app. Grab a yellow cake mix, vanilla instant pudding, bananas, strawberries, crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries and you’ll have everything you need.
Quick & Simple Steps to Layer Heaven
First, bake the cake and make the pudding. Then layer cake cubes, pudding, fruit, nuts, and toppings in a glass bowl. Repeat! Chill 1 hour and dive in to dessert paradise.
Tips for Serving Success
For the prettiest presentation, serve your trifle in a clear glass bowl. Garnish additional maraschino cherries and banana slices on top. Enjoy chilled or at room temperature.
Ingredients:
- Yellow Cake Mix: 1 box (15.25 ounces) plus additional ingredients as per box instructions
- Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix: 1 large box (5.1 ounces)
- Milk: 3 cups
- Bananas: 4, peeled and sliced
- Strawberries: 2 cups, hulled and sliced
- Canned Crushed Pineapple: 20 ounces, drained
- Cool Whip: 1 tub (3 cups)
- Chocolate Sauce: ½ cup
- Walnuts: ½ cup, chopped
- Maraschino Cherries: 25 (10 chopped, 15 whole)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Follow the yellow cake mix package instructions for a 9×13 inch pan. Bake and let the cake cool entirely (approx. 1 hour).
- Cube the cake and remove from the pan. Prepare vanilla pudding using milk as per package directions.
- In a large glass serving or trifle bowl, layer half of the cake cubes. Add half of the pudding, then half of the sliced bananas.
- Arrange sliced strawberries around the bowl’s edge for aesthetics, and scatter the remaining strawberries over the bananas.
- Layer with half of the crushed pineapple, followed by half of the Cool Whip, half of the chocolate sauce, half of the chopped walnuts, and all chopped cherries.
- Repeat the layers: cake, pudding, bananas, pineapple, Cool Whip, chocolate sauce, walnuts, and finish with whole cherries on top.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve chilled.
