Servings
Font
Back
0 from 93 votes

Banana Pudding Cheesecake

With a vanilla wafer crust and creamy banana filling, this banana pudding cheesecake brings together two of your favorite desserts into one decadent bite.

Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 25 mins
Additional Time
10 hrs
Servings: 12
Course: Dessert , Cake

Ingredients

For the Crust
  • 8 ounces Nilla Wafer Cookies crushed into crumbs (about 2 cups of crumbs)
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For the Cheesecake
  • 32 ounces cream cheese room temperature (4 8-ounce packages)
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas about 2 ½ medium bananas
  • ⅔ cup sour cream
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Tightly wrap a 9-inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step helps to prevent leaks when using a water bath. However, my favorite way to prevent leaks is to place a 9-inch springform pan into a 10-inch round cake pan. Both pans can now go into your large roasting pan. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, outside of the 10-inch cake pan. You will get all of the benefits of baking with a water bath without the risk of leaks.
  3. Lightly spray the springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
  4. In a medium bowl, stir together crushed Nilla Wafer cookies and melted butter until thoroughly combined. Press the crumbs into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the prepared springform pan.
  5. Bake the crust in a preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
  6. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add sugar and flour and mix until smooth and well combined, about 1 minute.
  7. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg.
  8. Add in vanilla, mashed bananas, sour cream and salt and mix until fully incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute. Pour batter into the prepared crust.
  9. Place the 9-inch springform pan into a 10-inch cake pan and place both pans into a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it is halfway up the side of the cake pan.
  10. Bake for 65-70 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have a slight jiggle to it. At this point, turn off the oven, but leave the door cracked and allow the cheesecake to rest in the cooling oven for one hour.
  11. After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cheesecake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
  12. Before serving, top with whipped cream, crushed Nilla Wafers and freshly sliced bananas. A drizzle of salted caramel sauce would be delicious as well.

Notes

  • The Nilla Wafers create a bit softer of a crust than a traditional graham cracker crust. If you prefer a graham cracker crust, go ahead and swap in that crust - it’s just as delicious with the banana cheesecake filling.
  • If you don’t like seeing flecks of mashed bananas in your cheesecake, feel free to puree the bananas in a food processor instead of mashing them.