Leftover Bananas? Make This No-Bake Icebox Cake Instead
Five ingredients, zero oven time, and way more exciting than banana bread.
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Photo by Rocky Luten
Each week, our resident baker Terence shares tips and techniques to help you level up your baking.
This week, Terrence tackles the eternal “too many bananas” dilemma. Sure, banana bread is a classic, but what if you could turn those ripe bananas into something creamy, cold, and show-stopping? Enter: a banana pudding icebox cake—a five-ingredient, no-bake loaf that looks impressive but comes together with pantry basics and a little patience. Former Food52 editor, Emma Lapperruque made this years ago and you can see her original exploration here.
The secret weapon here is a malted whipped cream that gets layered with sliced bananas and Nilla wafers. As Emma wrote, it’s actually an “umami bomb” which explains why malts are in fact better than regular shakes. For this dessert, everything chills in a loaf pan overnight and transforms into a sliceable, frozen dessert that’s equal parts nostalgic and fresh.
Plus, as you’ll learn, banana pudding often means vanilla pudding with bananas (which is what the iconic Magnolia Bakery does).
What you need
- Ripe bananas
- Nilla wafers
- Heavy cream
- Malted milk powder
- Salt
How it comes ogether
- Line the pan: Wrap a loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving overhang on the sides (this will cover the top later).
- Make the cream: Whisk malted milk powder, salt, and heavy cream together—adding the cream a little at a time—then whip to stiff peaks (an electric mixer helps).
- Slice the bananas: Cut into rounds about the same size as the wafers for even layers.
- Assemble: Start with a layer of wafers, then cream, then bananas, then more cream. Repeat until the pan is full.
- Cover and freeze: Fold the plastic wrap over the top and freeze for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Tips & Tricks
- Use ripe bananas for maximum sweetness and flavor.
- A sharp knife is key when slicing the frozen cake—let it sit for a few minutes if too firm.
- Be generous with the plastic wrap overhang—it makes unmolding (and covering) a breeze.
- Keep the cream light and fluffy: add cream slowly while whisking to avoid clumps.
Slice thick pieces and serve straight from the freezer—no one will miss banana bread.
Get the full recipe here.