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This Banana Cream Cheesecake recipe is made with a fresh banana cheesecake topped with banana bavarian cream! It’s smooth, creamy and full of the most amazing banana flavor!
This cheesecake recipe is my new favorite and might just stay that way forever. It combines two of my favorite things – banana flavor and cheesecake. It’s no secret that the hubs and I have a love of banana flavored dessert. And ever since I was a kid, I have loved cheesecake. So when I first discovered the banana cream cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, I knew I was in heaven. The only regret I have in regards to this cheesecake is that it has taken me so long to create it at home!
So let’s not waste any more time. You need to make this ASAP so to get started, we’ve got the crust. I like to use vanilla wafers in a lot of my crusts, rather than graham cracker crumbs, but it’d be an easy swap to use graham crackers too. I personally like that vanilla wafers are a little sweeter and have more flavor. It really compliments this particular cheesecake too.
For the cheesecake filling, we’ve got banana flavor from both fresh bananas and banana extract. I played around with just fresh bananas and just banana extract, but you really need both to get that smooth banana flavor that I love in the banana cream cheesecake. The fresh bananas give it that real banana flavor and the banana extract enhances the flavor and makes it even better!
To bake the cheesecake, you’ll want to use a water bath. I know it’s a few extra step and seems to be a pain, but it’s really not hard and it definitely makes a better cheesecake. Without it, this cheesecake will fall in the center while cooling, brown around the edges and potentially crack. So definitely take the time to do the water bath and if you’d like to see how I set mine up, you can check that out here. I like to use a slow cooker liner to make sure water doesn’t get in. It’s quite handy.
While the cheesecake cools, the bavarian cream topping is made. This is one of my favorite parts of the cheesecake and totally sets it apart from others! The smooth, creamy texture and amazing taste are worth every second of making it. In fact, I wanted to just eat it all with a spoon!
The bavarian cream is similar to a pastry cream, with the main difference being that pastry cream is thickened with cornstarch and bavarian cream uses gelatin. Also, just before the cream sets, whipped cream is added to bavarian cream to lighten it. Once it’s made, spread it evenly on top of the cheesecake and then let the whole thing cool completely and set.
Top the finished cheesecake with a little whipped cream and then add some fresh sliced bananas when serving! The cheesecake is sure to be a hit! I shared it with family and everyone fell in love. In fact, my brother liked it so much that after he finished his piece, he started stealing bites from his daughter (my niece). Now you know when you start to steal food from your kids, it’s good!
Watch How To Make It
PrintBanana Cream Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Banana Cream Cheesecake Recipe is made with a fresh banana cheesecake topped with banana bavarian cream! It’s smooth, creamy & full of banana flavor!
Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 1/4 cups (302g) vanilla wafer crumbs
- 10 tbsp (140g) salted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp (39g) sugar
CHEESECAKE FILLING
- 24 ounces (678g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 3 tbsp (24g) all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (58g) sour cream, room temperature
- 4 tsp banana extract
- 1 cup (240ml) pureed banana (2 medium sized bananas)*
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
BAVARIAN CREAM
- 1 tsp powdered gelatin
- 2 tbsp (30ml) milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp (26g) sugar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp banana extract
- 2/3 cup (160ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 5 tbsp (36g) powdered sugar
WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Fresh sliced bananas
Instructions
CRUST
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
- Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
- Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil so that water from the water bath cannot get in (see how I prepare my pan for a water bath). Set prepared pan aside.
CHEESECAKE
- Reduce oven temperature to 300°F (148°C).
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour on low speed until well completely combined and smooth. Be sure to use low speed to reduce the amount of air added to the batter, which can cause cracks. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the sour cream and banana extract and mix on low speed until well combined.
- Add the pureed bananas and mix on low speed until combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly to combine after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the crust.
- Place the springform pan inside another larger pan. Fill the outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
- Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. The center should be set, but still jiggly.
- Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for 30 minutes. The cheesecake will continue to cook, but slowly begin to cool as well.
- Crack the door of the oven for 30 minutes to allow the cheesecake to continue to cool slowly. This process helps prevent cracking.
BAVARIAN CREAM
- While the cheesecake finishes cooling, make the bavarian cream. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin onto the milk and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together and set aside.
- Add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract and banana extract to a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm.
- Remove the cream mixture from heat and slowly pour the hot cream into the eggs to temper them.
- Add the egg and cream mixture back into the saucepan and return to the heat. Continue cooking over medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, or reaches about 160°F. It should happen fairly quickly.
- Add the gelatin mixture to the hot cream and stir until smooth.
- Pour the custard into another bowl and set that bowl inside another bowl over ice. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- While the custard cools, add the 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to a large mixer bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- When the custard is ready, gently fold the whipped cream into the custard. Be sure it’s at least room temperature, so the whipped cream doesn’t wilt/melt.
- Remove the water bath wrapping from the cheesecake, then spread the bavarian cream evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate cheesecake until completely cool and firm, 5-6 hours.
TOPPING
- When the cheesecake is cool and firm, remove it from the springform pan.
- Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract for the whipped cream topping to a large mixer bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Pipe swirls of whipped cream around the edge of the cheesecake, then serve with sliced bananas.
Cheesecake should be stored in the fridge. Best if eaten within 3-4 days.
Notes
* I recommend using fresh, yellow bananas. Not ones that are ripe and brown. I prefer the color and flavor of the fresh bananas in this particular cheesecake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 504
- Sugar: 36.4 g
- Sodium: 315.5 mg
- Fat: 32.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.6 g
- Protein: 8.3 g
- Cholesterol: 156.7 mg
Enjoy!
I have made this cheesecake a few times and it is DELICIOUS! I have a question though. Why does my Bavarian Cream stay a little “lumpy”? It’s just gelatin and does dissolves pretty quick. But how do I achieve the creamy texture? Thanks!
It could be that when you add the whipped cream at the end, it’s not fully combining and you’re getting some lumps. You could try stirring the cream up a bit to make sure it’s smooth right before adding the whipped cream to it.
This is the best cheesecake recipe. It was so nice to find a recipe that actually incorporates banana inside of the cheesecake. The vanilla wafer crust takes the cheesecake to another level. My family and friends enjoyed this moist, rich and flavorful dessert.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi when adding the milk to the gelatin powder must the milk be warm? Also can I use evaporated milk?
No, cold. And I haven’t tried evaporated milk, but it’s probably not ideal.
I just finished making the crust, and it’s currently cooling. The bottom of it was liquidy when I took it out. So much butter! Is that how it is supposed to be? I even cooked it for an extra two minutes.
No it shouldn’t be like that.
Mine was like this too. I think it’s too much butter. After the cheesecake was done In the oven , there was butter seaping out the bottom of the spring pan. 10 tablespoons is a lot it seems. I haven’t cut into the cake yet. I’m hoping for good results for the crust even w all that butter
Holy Moly! What a showstopper! My fiancé tried his had at making banana extract and I wanted to use it in a special way and found this recipe. I was a little intimidated because I had never baked a cheesecake before but the directions were seamless, approachable, and easy to follow! I didn’t have any gelatin powder so I substituted agar agar and the Bavarian cream turned out great! I had already purchased Graham crackers before I found this recipe but can’t wait to do it with Vanilla Wafers!! My favorite part of home baking is doing my own thing to decorate but the pics were so beautiful that I just recreated it as exactly as I could! This is the most rewarding dessert I have ever made!! Can’t wait to make it again for a special occasion.
That’s so awesome to hear! Glad you enjoyed it!
Kara Bibb, how did you sub the agar agar? I thought it was supposed to be dissolved in boiling water so I let mine cook in the egg/cream mixture just a bit, but the texture ended up wrong… kind of grainy. I make cheesecakes all the time, but have never used gelatin, let alone agar agar…. Not sure where I went wrong.
This cheesecake is amazing. This is my 2nd time making it. I was wondering if I can place the cheesecake in the fridge overnight and do the Bavarian cream the next day.
I started late in the day.
My family loves this recipe!!
Thank you for posting it!
Outstanding recipe, made it previously and my family & myself loved it.
The Bavarian cream is a great idea. Thank you for a great cheesecake!
Making it again by request! It’s always a hit. The flavor is amazing and it’s gorgeous with the Bavarian layer on top.
I absolutely loved this cheesecake! It was my first time making one from scratch and I did my best to follow the recipe to a T and even weighed ingredients instead of using measuring cups! My water bath leaked a little bit the cake still set really well and was amazing! I’m wanting to get risky/creative and try my hand at a blueberry cheesecake. I’m wondering if I could use mashed fresh blueberries and fold them in instead of bananas and maybe even blueberry extract. Then instead of vanilla wafers maybe a graham cracker based crust? I’m not sure how it would turn out though. I plan on getting your book and looking through your website for some more ideas though!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! This would be my recommendation for Blueberry Cheesecake. So good!
This looks AMAZING!! I have 1 question…can I make the Bavarian cream the day before making the cheesecake and keep it in in the fridge? And then once the cheesecake is cool, spread the Bavarian cream over the top?
No, I wouldn’t recommend it. Once made, the cream will set and not really be spreadable anymore.
hi, i couldn’t find banana extract anywhere 🙁 what else can i use?
There isn’t really a substitute. Have you tried Walmart? They typically have those types of things. Or you could try Amazon.
For the banana cream, is it possible to substitute heavy cream for the milk?
You can use heavy cream in place of the milk, but not milk in place of heavy cream.
Hello,
i want to make this cake for my mums birthday next week. Like it discribed, i put a plastic bag around the pan and then aluminum. Can i do a plastic bag in the oven? It will not melt?
Did you use the slow cooker bags? Regular plastic bags probably will melt, so you want those specifically.
So, so good! I made it for my dad’s birthday and he loved it! One question, though, I followed instructions for the bavarian cream (first time making it) and I noticed the color was more yellow than white, and while I couldn’t taste it, I could see tiny spot of yellow in it. Could it be that I didn’t cool the cream mixture enough and accidently ended up cooking some of the yolk when I tried to temper it?
Yes, the color is more yellow than white. That’s correct. As for the tiny spots, it could be from tempering the eggs. Or maybe the gelatin didn’t entirely melt and incorporate? Hard to say for sure.
Made this cheesecake for the first time and it’s came out good. Mine isn’t as pretty in the picture, but taste good. Little time consuming lots of patience. I did not do the bavarian cream I just made the whipped topping only. My bananas weren’t all yellow they did have some spotted brown on them but I feel like my cheesecake wasn’t over powering even with added flavor of banana extract.
It’s too bad that you skipped the bavarian cream, because it really adds a lot to the cheesecake, including flavor.
I know most cheesecakes freeze well, do you think if I waited to thawed yo slice the banana on top that it would also freeze well?
Yes, I would think it should freeze fine. Just wrap well and thaw in the fridge.