In a medium bowl, whisk the instant vanilla pudding mix with the cold whole milk. Continue whisking for two minutes until the mixture begins to thicken, then set it aside in the fridge.

In a separate large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until it is completely smooth and fluffy. Add the sweetened condensed milk slowly and continue beating until there are no visible lumps left.

Gently stir the chilled vanilla pudding into the cream cheese mixture using your silicone spatula. Mix until the color is uniform and the texture looks very thick, creamy, and pale yellow.

In a clean chilled bowl, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form and the cream looks like thick, white clouds.

Gently fold half of the homemade whipped cream into the pudding and cheese mixture. This adds a lot of air and makes the final dessert feel light instead of heavy.

Line the bottom of your glass bowl or baking dish with a single layer of vanilla wafers. Make sure the cookies are packed tightly together to create a sturdy and crunchy base.

Place a generous layer of fresh banana slices over the top of the vanilla wafer cookies. I like to use plenty of bananas so that every spoonful has a bit of fruit.

Pour half of the creamy pudding mixture over the bananas and spread it evenly with your spatula. Ensure the pudding touches the sides of the dish to seal in the fresh fruit.

Add another layer of cookies, followed by more bananas, and the rest of the creamy pudding. This creates the beautiful striped look that makes Southern banana pudding so iconic and tempting.

Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top and garnish with a few extra crushed cookies. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least four hours before serving to everyone.