Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!

This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!The other day, we were going through our kitchen cabinets.  Our kitchen always seems to just accumulate stuff.  (Please tell me your kitchen just accumulates stuff, too??)  The kitchen gadget drawer was overflowing, and I was having night terrors at the thought of opening the cabinet with the plastic storage containers.  But the task of the day was the coffee mug cabinet.

You see, I like coffee mugs.  No, I don’t collect them from everywhere I’ve been on vacation.  In fact, I rarely ever buy a coffee mug.  (Although my wife did buy me a Grumpy mug when she had a work conference at Disney a couple years back.  That was allowed.  I’m Grumpy in the mornings before coffee.  And sometimes after coffee, too.)  Nevertheless, our coffee mug cabinet was becoming a bit overstuffed.  It was like a game of Tetris trying to figure out how to get all of the clean ones in the cabinet at the same time.  (Curse you, stupid mug handles!)

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!As we were pulling out mugs that we haven’t used in years, I found an old classic.  There’s nothing too special about this mug.  It’s tan(ish) in color.  But it holds memories.  I got that mug from one of my students the very first year I taught Latin.  I was living in Baton Rouge, and I’d taken a crazy career turn by agreeing to teach Latin to 3rd-12th graders.  (Just a couple months before, I’d been wearing a suit and working in a bank.)  One of my 3rd graders brought me a little gift one day.  Just a simple mug with a bag of coffee.  But I still remember it.

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!Living down in Louisiana brought a lot of new experiences to me.  Mardi Gras, LSU football and delicious Cajun food to name just a few.  I lived just over an hour away from New Orleans, and I quickly fell in love with that city.  I also quickly fell in love with the food in New Orleans.  In fact, that was the first place I ever stumbled across pecan pralines.  I wasn’t really sure what pralines were, but one bite and I was hooked.

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!Pecan pralines are a New Orleans creation, and they always take me back to my days living in Louisiana.  The other day, I decided that crumbled pralines would make a great topping over a cheesecake.  But what kind of cheesecake?  Hazelnut?  Maybe.  Chocolate?  Hmmm.  Then it hit me.  Banana.  Yup, a Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines.  That needed to happen.  And it did.

I’m not gonna lie, my wife was a little skeptical about the banana pudding cheesecake.  Banana flavored desserts can be a little hit-or-miss, but I told her to trust me on this one.  I was armed with confidence that this combo would work!  And it did.  The worst part was trying to avoid eating all of the crumbled pralines before they made it on top of the cheesecake.  Together, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is one tasty dessert!

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!

And in case you are wondering, that coffee mug is still in the cabinet.

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!

Banana Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines

A cross between banana pudding and cheesecake, this Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is the perfect summertime dessert!
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 568kcal

Ingredients

For the Vanilla Wafer Crust

  • cups vanilla wafer crumbs ~50-55 wafers
  • 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the Banana Cheesecake

For the Pralines

Instructions

For the Vanilla Wafer Crust

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Using a food processor or mini-chopper, pulse the vanilla wafers until finely ground. In a medium bowl, combine the vanilla wafer crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter. Stir until fully combined.
  • Lightly butter or grease a 9” springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper. Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom and up sides of the pan. (Tip: A flat-bottomed glass helps pack the crust mixture down evenly.)
  • Bake crust at 350°F for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

For the Cheesecake

  • Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
  • Using a countertop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until completely smooth (about 3 minutes).
  • Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar and flour; mix well. (Tip: Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl to fully incorporate the sugar.)
  • Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together and add to the bowl in 2 additions, mixing fully on low speed after each addition.
  • Add the sour cream, vanilla and mashed bananas; mix on low speed until fully combined. (Tip: Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the filling is fully mixed.)
  • Pour the batter on top of the cooled crust.
  • Wrap the bottom of the pan with a piece of aluminum foil and place in a large baking pan. Fill pan with about 1/2”-3/4” of water. Bake at 325° until center of cake is just barely set (about 80-90 minutes). (Tip: Pull the cheesecake out of the oven when there is about 1" ring of "looser" filling left in the center of the cake.)
  • Remove cake from oven and cool for 10 min. Place in refrigerator until fully cooled. (Tip: I like to wrap entire pan in plastic wrap and freeze overnight. The next day, I remove the cake from the freezer and release the springform pan. Then I just transfer the cake to a serving platter and defrost in a refrigerator for 4-5 hours.)
  • Crumble Pralines over top of cheesecake before serving.

For the Pralines

  • Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or silicone liner; set aside.
  • Place all ingredients into a large saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring often, until mixture begins to boil. Let boil for 3 minutes, or until temperature reaches 238-240°.
  • Remove pan from heat and continue stirring until mixture begins to thicken slightly.
  • Using 2 large spoons, drop spoonfuls of praline mixture onto lined sheet pan. Let cool completely.

Looking for more tasty cheesecake recipes?  Check out these other favorites, too:

Forget looking for that elusive pot of gold...go for the sure thing!  Grab a slice of this delicious Rainbow Cheesecake, and celebrate St. Patrick's Day in style!Rainbow Cheesecake

This Passion Fruit Cheesecake is packed with tropical flavors!  It's the perfect dessert for a warm summer evening.  Cheers!Passion Fruit Cheesecake

Topped with melted chocolate and chopped Andes mints, this Ricotta Cheesecake with Peppermint Chocolate Sauce is a delicious and fun holiday dessert!Ricotta Cheesecake with Peppermint Chocolate Sauce

Spiced® is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Programs and other affiliate services. This means that spicedblog.com receives a small commission by linking to Amazon.com and other sites at no cost to the readers.

41 Comments

  1. My cabinets accumulate stuff too, David. Funny thing, I’ll organize them and sort them out all nice and think to myself ‘yeap, they’re never gonna get disorganized again.’ Then, slowly but surely they do. What happens? One of life’s mysteries, I guess 😀
    I’m a fan of any flavour of cheesecake so, of course, this one appeals to me! I’ve never had a banana flavoured one before, though. I bet it’s awesome with those pralines. Then again, you could probably put those pralines on a shoe and it would taste good, right?

    1. I’m with ya, Dawn…how do drawers/cabinets accumulate so much junk? Every so often, I’ll rummage around in a drawer and just wonder where some of the stuff came from! As far as this cheesecake, you need it in your life! Seriously. This is probably the best cheesecake I’ve ever tasted…and I’m not making that up! 🙂 As far as eating pralines on a shoe, I think I might be willing to do that. Haha!

  2. That is such a cute story about your coffee mug, David! We have like no cabinet space in our house so the cabinets with my pots and pans is a total mess! I’m just waiting to move for that one lol. But this cheesecake looks delicious! Those pecan praline crumbles sound amazing, too!

    1. That’s my coffee mug, darn it all! Haha! Thanks so much, Shelby! Oh geez. We have a cabinet with pots and pans, too…and I hate it. There is no good way to keep that cabinet organized. I think I shall just sit and eat cheesecake instead. 🙂

  3. The plastic containers are the worst! I threw all but 4 plastic containers last month and still have things to donate and toss out. The clutter is real! Love this combination, creative creation!

    1. Tell me about it, Tonya! The cabinet that holds our plastic containers is seriously the bane of my existence…I hate opening that cabinet! Thank you so much for the comment. 🙂

  4. Hi David! I have made pralines and they are absolutely addictive! I’ve never seen a banana cheesecake, but this certainly sounds delicious. You always come up with the best ideas! Have a great weekend my friend! 🙂

    1. And pralines are so easy to make, too, Dorothy! I always forget how easy (and addicting) those little things are. 🙂 So this banana cheesecake? Seriously one of my favorite cheesecakes ever…and I love (like really love!) cheesecake. 🙂 Hope you had an excellent weekend!

  5. And to think all these years, I was under the impression that Pecan Pralines was a Savannah thing! I had no clue they originated in Louisiana – gosh, I love how I manage to learn something new every day from the food-blogging world – thanks David! And, you won’t believe it, I have a giant Hershey coffee cup a third grader gave me when I was helping out in his class many many years ago that I simply cannot seem to part with – cups are more than cups sometimes, they hold some pretty special memories!
    BTW, I adore Banana treats – a coworker would make a mean dairy free banana pudding and he would give me a big bowl to bring home to Lil Shashi and guess what – it never did – ok maybe one time! This Banana Pudding Cheesecake with Crumbled Pralines is such a brilliant idea! The perfect pairing – so much better than with chocolate or hazelnut cheesecake – leave your windows open – my drone is heading north NOW! Happy Weekend my friend!

    1. You know…I had totally forgotten that Savannah for known for its pralines, Shashi. Then I had to go look it up. But sure enough, American style pralines originated from French settlers in New Orleans.

      I love the coffee cup story, Shashi! And you know what? I think that was one of my 3rd graders who gave me my mug, too. Lessons: Coffee cups hold memories. And 3rd graders are the best!

      I love me a good Southern banana pudding…so of course these cheesecake was a huge hit around here. Laura called it one of those desserts that would make a bakery famous…if I owned a bakery. But no thank you! I’ll just make this one at home and be perfectly happy! 🙂

  6. I cleaned out the cabinet of coffee mugs too about a month ago. I mean we’re two people, who needs 22 coffee mugs? Out half of them went, didn’t want to cause too much of a disturbance, especially since the usual ones are used and Dave didn’t even notice.
    As for this one, I’ve NEVER had a banana cheesecake and it sounds SO good. What sealed the deal are those wonderful pralines. Who could resists? I’d eat those alone… have a good one.

    1. Hahaha…I know the feeling, Kevin. 22 mugs for 2 people. That’s like 11 mugs a day. I dunno, though, sometimes I feel like I need 11 mugs of coffee…especially on Mondays! Oh, and for the record, I might have eaten a bunch of those pralines by themselves. But I did save enough for the topping on the cheesecake. Barely!

  7. Yes my kitchen accumulates stuff too! Lots of it! I blame my hubby and kids cause it´s not me.. 😉 If you followed me on snapchat (yes remember your sister told you about this…) then you would have seen a photo of my cupboard with my baking things.. it´s a bigggg MESS!
    This banana pudding cheesecake is genius btw!!

    1. Haha…yeah! I definitely blame my wife on the clutter in the kitchen. Of course, we both know who the rule culprit is. (Yup, it’s Robbie.) But I can deal with clutter as long as I get some cheesecake at the end of the day! 🙂 Hope you had an awesome weekend, Johlene!

  8. I too have an overflowing cabinet and its lot messy. I stopped collecting gadgets which was my bad habit sometime before. Dude kitchen mess is a never ending story. Cheesecake is my favorite . This one looks yummmy.

    1. I know, Smitha! Kitchen gadgets. There’s seriously a gadget for everything. And you know what? A good paring knife will eliminate the need for at least half of those gadgets! This cheesecake is seriously delicious…you should make it sometime! 🙂

  9. This should be a wedding blog. The number of food marriages on here…I’m not complaining! Pecan pralines…you’ve just sparked a craving for last night’s ice cream (Caramel pecan).

    Come clean my cabinets. They are filled with 6 different brands of barely used coconut flours.

    1. Oh, now that is a hard choice, Erlene. Banana bread or banana cheesecake. Ugh! How about we just get more bananas and make both? 🙂

  10. What kind of school teaches Latin to third graders? What kind of school teaches Latin at all? How many pre-college Latin teachers are there in the world? How many of them can pull off a cheesecake flavored with a banana mash? How did you manage not to eat that delicious looking cheesecake long enough to photograph it? Your post brings up so many questions.

    1. Haha…well, I’m glad to contribute to your curiosity, Jeff. If you want to learn Latin, then you know how to talk to now! And I hear that banana cheesecake is the prize when you pass Latin I. Just sayin’.

  11. This is such a interesting combo! Looks amazingly delicious. Your recipes are always so innovative. Adding another one from your blog in my to do list 🙂

  12. Pingback: Coffee Talk #17
  13. Hahaha..My cabinets accumulate stuff too, David. I do organize those cabinets every week but in a day or two those cabinets looks disorganized. But at the same time I believe that ” A messy kitchen is the sign of happiness” What do you say?
    BTW LOVELY CHEESECAKE. Pinning ofcourse. 🙂

    1. I agree, Puja! How do kitchen cabinets get so disorganized so quickly?? But I also agree with you! A perfect kitchen is one that is never cooked in…so bring on the mess and the cheesecake! 🙂

    1. This is absolutely one of my favorite cheesecake recipes…and that says a lot because I love me some cheesecake! Do give it a shot. 🙂

    1. New Orleans is such an awesome place! I really miss Louisiana, and I keep saying I’d move back there in a second. But I’m not sure I could handle the southern heat now that my blood has thickened for these northern winters. Haha!

    1. Hahaha…my sister just bought a new house, and it’s got an attached mother-in-law suite. That means a whole new (smaller) kitchen off to the side. The first thing I thought of was ‘hey…I want that so I can store all of my kitchen stuff’! 🙂

  14. Oh, you’re one of THOSE. I won’t talk to you in the morning before your coffee, then. My work husband is like that and he is very grumpy before he inhales about 32 oz. of caffeine. And we’re teachers, so we get started early!
    Pralines are the best, especially the authentic Louisiana kind. They’re also crazy addictive, so I can only imagine what putting them on cheesecake will do. Wowza!

    1. Hey! I am perfectly able to hold a conversation before morning coffee…I’m just in a much better mood afterwards! 🙂 I guess I could forgo that morning coffee as long as a slice of cheesecake was involved, though. Hah!

  15. i had my husband put me up a piece of white peg board ( from floor to ceiling) on a small wall between our kitchen and dining room, i then put hooks on it and hang all my pots and pans on it, well not all of them as i have way too many of them for that. i love kitchen things too, especially gadgets never can get enough of those. Cheese cake sounds wonderful i will make one for the 4th of July. Thanks for recipe..

    1. Hey there, Betty! I’ve done something similar under one of our cabinets and then I hang the pans and stack the pots underneath. I don’t love it, but I guess it gets the job done. There’s only so much space in the kitchen! This cheesecake is hands down one of my favorite cheesecake recipes…please do give it a shot! I think it would make a great 4th of July dessert. Thank you so much for leaving a comment, too. 🙂 Have a great weekend!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating