No-Bake Banana Split Cake Recipe

Banana splits have been a popular dessert since the beginning of the 20th century. The classic version consists of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream topped with pineapple, chopped nuts, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries. And, while a traditional banana split is a great dessert, this cake recipe from developer Jessica Morone might be an even better one. It's like the classic banana split but in cake form, and the best part? No oven is required! 

This cake has a buttery graham cracker crust topped with a layer of cream cheese filling, fresh bananas, crushed pineapple, and strawberries. It's then covered with whipped topping, drizzled with chocolate syrup, sprinkled with peanuts, and finished with maraschino cherries. Morone loves this dessert because "It is so easy to put together, and it's the perfect dessert for the warmer months since it doesn't require any baking — just chill it and it's ready to eat." This dessert will also keep for up to three days in the fridge, so it's a great make-ahead dessert.

The first thing you need to do is gather the ingredients to make this banana split cake. For the crust, you will need graham crackers, butter, and salt. For the creamy filling, you will need cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and butter. You top the filling with bananas, crushed pineapple, strawberries, and whipped topping. Finally, you add chopped peanuts, chocolate sauce, and maraschino cherries.

Make the crust: Add the graham crackers to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until ground into crumbs.

Add the melted butter and salt to the food processor and pulse until combined.

Press the graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with the bottom of a measuring cup or your hands.

Make the filling: In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and softened butter until fluffy.

Gently spread the cream cheese mixture over the graham cracker crust.

Add sliced bananas over the cream cheese mixture.

Top the bananas with the crushed pineapple.

Add the sliced strawberries over the pineapple.

Spread the whipped topping over the strawberries.

Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the whipped topping.

Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the cake and top with the maraschino cherries, as desired.

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Since this is a banana split cake, you generally want to stick with the classic flavors in a banana split. But, that doesn't mean you can't make some substitutions. Sticking with the ice cream theme, instead of using graham crackers in this recipe, you could use crushed up ice cream cones. Or, since chocolate is also a banana split flavor, you could use chocolate wafers or cookies in place of the graham crackers, as well. You will need about 2 cups of crushed-up cones or chocolate wafers to replace the graham crackers. 

The chopped peanuts could be swapped with other nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, or left out completely. There are chocolate whipped toppings that you can buy, or you can make your own chocolate whipped cream, which would be a fun swap for the regular whipped topping if you are a fan of chocolate. Finally, if you aren't a fan of maraschino cherries, they can be swapped with fresh pitted cherries or the fancier Luxardo maraschino cherries. 

The easiest substitution for Cool Whip is to make your own whipped cream. Cool Whip and heavy cream can be used as substitutes for each other. You can make your own whipped cream by whipping heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks, then sweeten it with powdered sugar, to taste. Homemade whipped cream tends to have a richer flavor compared to Cool Whip, and it will spread easily over the top of this cake. Overall, it's a great substitute. 

Another option that you can try for a different flavor or a dairy-free option is whipped coconut cream. This can be whipped the same way you would heavy cream — you just have to make sure that it has been chilled in the fridge before whipping it. If you're looking for something more substantial, you could consider making a second layer of the filling using more cream cheese, powdered sugar, and butter. This combination will make the cake more tangy and heavier.