Icebox Cake Trifle

There are lots of different versions of icebox cake.  Where I’m from, there is only one kind 😉  It is usually served in a 9×13 glass dish, and it is definitely one of my family’s comfort foods. I put a little bit of a spin on the presentation, but I kept the recipe (for the most part) traditional. 

This recipe is easy to prepare and could easily be tweaked to be a low-sugar, low-fat or fat-free recipe.

You’ll need:

1 box of instant chocolate pudding mix

1 box of instant vanilla pudding mix

2 ripe bananas

about 1/3 of a box of graham crackers

milk

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First, line the bottom of the trifle dish with graham crackers.

Then prepare both pudding mixes (in separate bowls).

Slice up the banana and place the slices on the graham crackers.

Add in your first layer of pudding (it doesn’t matter which flavor you start with).  Trifles are great because they look beautiful.  If you plop the pudding in and it smears all over the sides of the dish, it won’t be so pretty.  It will look like you carelessly dumped a bunch of things into a bowl and called it dessert.  (This recipe is actually that easy, but if it’s not presentable, everyone else will know that too 😉  ).  Put the pudding in the center of the dish and spread to the sides.  If you do end up getting it on the sides, just wipe it off with a paper towel.

 

Now you alternate layering graham cracker, banana, chocolate pudding, graham cracker, banana, vanilla pudding. 

 

Easy peasy.   Traditionally, you sprinkle crushed graham cracker crumbs on top as a garnish.  This is great if you are going to serve it immediately.  I made mine the day before I was going to serve it, and graham crackers can get soggy…ew.  I could have just garnished it right before our guests arrived, but I wanted this thing D-O-N-E.  So I just used what I had lying around.

This was actually really nice.  It tasted like a very crunchy graham cracker and never got soggy. 

What is your family’s comfort food dessert?