Ingredients :

• Chessmen cookies (Pepperidge Farm biscuits) — Small butter shortbreads shaped like chess pieces. They have a denser, butterier texture than classic vanilla wafers, which is exactly why they work so well here: they soak slowly without turning to mush. Can’t find them near you? LU Petit Beurre or French buttery shortbread cookies will do just fine.
• Cream cheese — Get it at room temperature — out of the fridge for at least an hour. If you try to work it cold, you’ll end up with lumps that never fully disappear. Philadelphia is the safe bet, but any full-fat cream cheese gets the job done.
• Sweetened condensed milk — This is what sweetens the cream, not granulated sugar. It also brings a particular silkiness, as if the cream were smooth from the inside out. Do not replace it with unsweetened evaporated milk — it won’t be the same thing at all.
• Bananas — Neither too green nor too ripe. You’re looking for bananas with maybe one or two black spots, but still firm under your fingers. Overripe, they become mushy when in contact with the cream. Too green, they lack fragrance — and fragrance is everything.