Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding gets a red velvet upgrade—and you can make it too

Magnolia Bakery is as synonymous with New York as the city’s iconic Macy’s store, its yellow cabs, or the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa). Opened in 1996, the bakery started selling cupcakes made with leftover cake batter, which made it extremely popular with the city’s clientele—some even credit the “cupcake craze” of the 90s to the bakery. It even featured in the TV series Sex and the City, and in the cult classic The Devil Wears Prada, where the character Andy says she needs to pick up something from the bakery for her boyfriend. 

While for many years the pastel-hued cupcakes drove the business at the bakery, new items got added to the list too, one of which would surpass the stardom of the cupcakes—Magnolia Bakery’s classic banana pudding. Made with layers of vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers, and bananas, it’s a simple but decadent dessert that takes inspiration from Southern American cuisine. For the past year, newer versions of the banana pudding have been added to the menu, including chocolate hazelnut, salted caramel, and java chip. Now, there’s a red velvet iteration too—it combines the fan-favourite red velvet cake with the banana pudding. 

Ahead, check out the recipe by Magnolia Bakery's chief baking officer Bobbie Lloyd, and learn how to make the dessert at home, just in time for the holidays. 

Magnolia Bakery red velvet banana pudding 

Ingredients:
One 400g can sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups water, ice-cold
One 100g pack instant vanilla pudding mix 
225g cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces
3 cups heavy cream, cold
One 9x13 inch layer of red velvet cake (see below for recipe)
4-5 ripe bananas, sliced 
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Method:
1. In a small bowl, with your stand mixer or hand-held mixer at medium speed, mix the sweetened condensed milk and water together until well combined, about a minute.
2. Add the pudding mix and whisk again until there are no lumps and the mixture is smooth, about two minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least three-four hours, or overnight.
3. Place the pudding mixture into a large bowl and add the cream cheese to the batter. Again, using a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer, mix the batter until thoroughly combined and smooth. Place the mix in the fridge to cool while you prepare the whipped cream.
4. In another large bowl, whip the heavy cream (by hand or using an electric mixer) till stiff peaks form, making sure you don’t over whip. Add the pudding mixture into the whipped cream and fold the mix until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.
5. Now, cut the red velvet cake into 4-inch squares. Cut each square horizontally into half-inch layers and set aside.
6. To assemble the pudding, select either a trifle bowl or a wide glass bowl. Spread a layer of pudding on the bottom and layer with enough slices of the red velvet cake to cover the layer. Then, add sliced bananas to cover the cake and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of mini chips. Continue layering with 1/3 of the pudding mixture, another layer of cake, sliced bananas and mini chips. Repeat one more time, ending with the pudding. Sprinkle the top with crumbled red velvet cake and a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight before serving.

Magnolia Bakery red velvet cake 

Ingredients: 
2 cups sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
3 1/3 cups cake flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
225g butter, at room temperature and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 eggs
½ cup milk
¾ cup sour cream
1 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring

Method: 
1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Grease and lightly flour a 9x13 inch pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. 
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, cocoa powder, cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed for one minute. 
3. With the mixer turned off, add the butter to the bowl all at once. Mix on low speed for two-three minutes until the mixture resembles wet sand.
4. Separately, in a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring.
5. Turn the mixer on low and slowly stream in the egg mixture. Give the batter a mix for one minute. Turn off the mixer, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, and then mix again for one or two minutes until the batter is fully incorporated.
6. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 38-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for one hour before removing and letting it cool completely on a wire rack. 

All images: Magnolia Bakery