Banana Cream Brownie Squares (Longcut Version)

So, how did my “from scratch” rendition turn out?

Here is the original recipe, with the modifications I made in italics:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C peanuts, chopped, divided (replaced with sliced almonds)
• 1 pkg brownie mix (15-17 oz; plus ingredients to make the brownies) (replaced with Mark Bittman’s Brownie Cake recipe)
• 3 medium bananas, divided
• 1 pkg (5.1 oz) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling (10 oz custard powder)
• 1 1/4 C cold milk
• 1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided (+ some homemade whipped cream)
• 12 strawberries 1 C blueberries
• chocolate curls (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions; stir in1/2 of the chopped peanuts; pour into 8×8 pan and bake according to package directions. Cool completely or overnight. Day ahead: Make the brownies.
2. Slice two of the bananas and place in a single layer over the cooked and cooled brownies. In a medium bowl, whisk pudding mix custard powder and milk until it just begins to thicken. Gently fold in 2 1/2 C of the whipped topping and spread over bananas. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Sprinkle remaining peanuts almonds over the pudding mixture. Garnish with the leftover homemade whipped topping (if you have a decorator tube it works great), sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, and chocolate curls. almonds and blueberries.

The Verdict: The dessert itself turned out well, although I would have kept a single batch of the brownies as they were a little thick. Also, I would have purchased more cream to make more of the whipped cream (if not all) of it from scratch. Finally, I would have used a “from scratch” custard recipe instead of the powder. Half the fun was trying new things.  No one guessed the secret ingredient in the brownies, even after eating them.

What I Learned: For starters, I’m not always going to hit a home run. (But then, I already knew that). Thinking back on my Pampered Chef saleswoman days, there is no way I would have attempted to make this from scratch, though. So that’s progress, eh? I realized that I’m learning to think about recipes in blocks. As in, mix and match components. You could really take any brownie recipe, put a layer of fruit on it, and top with some sort of pudding/custard and chipped cream and it would be delicious. Say, that gives me an idea . . .

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Related posts:

1. Banana Cream Brownie Squares (Shortcut Version)
2. How to Make Whipped Cream
3. Brownie Cake

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