One of my favorite memories from growing up was when my mom would surprise us on a random weeknight with the announcement: “Banana splits for dinner!” She’d set out bowls with bananas and vanilla ice cream, then all the accompaniments: homemade hot fudge, whipped cream, fresh berries, toasted pecans, strawberry sauce, and of course, cherries for the top. Hey, they may not have been the most nutritious of dinners (she made up for it on other nights), but they certainly created some great memories.
When dreaming up a dessert to serve after a dinner party recently, I thought it would be fun to make another one of my summery favorites – shortcakes – and let guests pile them high with a riff on my mom’s build-your-own banana splits. It turned out to be one of my better dessert ideas, as you can probably tell by the mouthwatering photos… I mean, what’s not to love about all those layers of the best ice cream toppings ever, sandwiched between crunchy buttery shortbread? Keep reading for the recipe!
*photos by Buff Strickland
Banana Split Shortcakes
Serves 8
Banana Split Shortcake
Categories
Ingredients
- 8 shortcakes -- sprinkled with coarse sugar just before baking (you can go with homemade, or you can do what I do and use the recipe on the back of the box of Bisquick!)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 16 - 20 strawberries, stemmed and cut into 1/4" slices
- 2 bananas, sliced into 1/2" slices
- 1 batch of my mom's kahlua hot fudge sauce
- 1 pint strawberry ice cream
- 1/2 cup roasted and salted peanuts, chopped
- 1 jar maraschino cherries (I splurged for the fancy Luxardo brand)
Instructions
- Use a hand mixer to beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Split shortcakes down the center. In the center of the bottom half of each shortcake, make 2 or 3 stacks of 2 banana slices (depending on the size of your shortcakes.)
- Place a dollop of whipped cream in the center of the banana slices, then lean a few strawberry slices around the perimeter of the shortcakes. The bananas and cream will help the strawberries stand up straight.
- Drizzle a liberal amount of kahlua hot fudge over the top of the whipped cream, letting it run down the sides of the shortcakes. Top with the other shortcake halves, then place a couple more banana slices and a tiny scoop of strawberry ice cream on top.
- Add a maraschino cherry to each shortcake, then sprinkle with peanuts, pass out tons of napkins, and eat!
These look so yummy! What’s not to love about banana split shortcake for dinner?
http://www.livinginsteil.com
Looks delicious!
xoxo
Camille, these are stunning! I love love love that they are so visually impressive (and impossible delicious, I’m sure) but still so easy to pull together!
Can anyone in Austin recommend where to buy shortcake? Or do I need to make them from scratch?
Central Market usually has delicious shortcakes available in the bakery!