Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding with Salted Caramel and Almond Toffee Crunch
New York’s famous Magnolia Bakery has the most amazing banana pudding. EVER.
It has become a staple in our house as I make it often—for birthdays, bar-b-ques, football tailgates and weekend cravings (check out a previous blog post about it here). While it is perfection on it's own, I decided to take it to an entirely different level by adding salted caramel and crunchy almond toffee.
I love serving banana pudding (or anything really) in individual servings. How adorable is a layered banana pudding in a mason jar? Drizzled it with salted caramel? Yes please!
Garnish each with toffee and serve with BIG spoons.
Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding with Salted Caramel and Toffee Crunch Banana Pudding: 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk 1 1/2 cups ice cold water Small box (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix 3 cups heavy whipping cream Box Nilla Wafers 4 sliced bananas (make sure they are ripe! no green bananas aloud)
Salted Caramel Sauce: 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 3/4 cup heavy cream 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon gray sea salt, crushed or kosher salt Almond toffee for garnish (I love Nashville Toffee Company)
In the bowl of a mixer, beat sweetened condensed milk and water for about a minute. Add the pudding mix and beat for about two more minutes. Transfer to a smaller bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until firm.
In a large bowl on medium speed, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the pudding mixture until fully combined and no streaks of pudding are visible.
In a mason jars, layer wafers, bananas, and pudding until you have 2 or 3 layers in each jar ending with pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. I think it is better refrigerated overnight (the wafers become soft and everything starts to meld together).
To make the caramel sauce, combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, without stirring. If necessary, use a wet pastry brush to wash down any crystals on the side of the pan. Boil until the syrup is a deep amber color, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the sugar from the heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble. Stir in the unsalted butter, and salt. Transfer the caramel to a dish and cool.
Just before serving, drizzle each banana pudding mason jar with salted caramel sauce and garnish with toffee pieces.
