I LOVE a good banana pudding! I also LOVE a good banana cake, and I am not a cake person. Combine the two and we have one of my favorite treats! We are going to take some shortcuts here by using a boxed cake mix and instant banana pudding BUT we are going to doctor things and make it really good. If you prefer to make a cake from scratch and pudding from scratch then GO FOR IT! No judgment from us because we sometimes prefer to make things from scratch. However, today is not that day for us, so please no judgement toward us either. Deal?
We are going to use this Betty Crocker Yellow cake mix to start. When I need a plain cake as a foundation for a dessert, but no time to make it from scratch, this is a good start. We can change things slightly to make the cake the taste more like a homemade cake if you wish. You can absolutely just make it as directed on the box if you wish. Or you can doctor it like I am about to.
Add in the milk, oil and eggs as specified in our recipe below. THEN, the SECRET ingredient! Sour. Cream. (And of course I did not take a picture of the sour cream because it was the secret, most important ingredient that I should have photographed)
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- milk
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- oil
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- eggs
Mix all the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. I use a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer. Mix it well, no lumps. Then pour into a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish.
Bake according to the box instructions. It should be at 350 degrees for about 28 minutes. Set it on a cooling rack so it can cool completely before the next steps.
While the cake is cooling, prep the pudding. Mix 4 cups of pudding with 2 small boxes of instant banana pudding. Whisk it well, till completely smooth. Cover tightly and put in the refrigerator to chill for later.
Traditionally Poke Cakes are made with a 1/4 inch dowel, but WHO has a dowel on hand? OK, I probably have a dowel in my garage or basement somewhere, but I am not going to look for it. SO, next best option is to use a rounded, wooden spoon handle. Wait for the cake to completely cool before poking it! Poke holes in rows all across the top of the cake, about an inch apart. Push down almost to the bottom, but not all the way through.
Now it’s ready for the filling and topping. Take out the prepared pudding and stir it up. Pour ALL OF IT over the top while spreading and lightly smooshing the pudding into the poked holes. It may seem like too much pudding, but I promise, it isn’t. Next, slice 1-2 banana into a single layer over the top of the pudding.
For the frosting, mix an 8 oz. block of cream cheese with a 1/2 up of white, granulated sugar. Next, add in 2 cups of whipping cream, starting slow. Gradually add speed and whip till it is the consistency of frosting. Stir in the vanilla extract. Carefully spread the whipped cream over the top of the bananas without moving them.
Now for the MUST have finish! Crush 1 cup of Nilla Wafers into crumb and then sprinkle over the top.
If you like this recipe, be sure to check these others out!
- Hawaiian Pineapple Poke Cake
- Banana Cream Pie
- Turtle Cream Dessert
- Berry Pudding and Parfaits
- Cookie Pudding aka Cookie Salad
- Dirt Cake
Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Delicious cake, filled and topped with banana pudding, bananas and cream! Perfect for a birthday or gathering with friends.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box (15.25) yellow cake mix
- 1 cup sour cream, best to use full fat
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk I use 2%
- ⅓ cup oil I use canola oil
Filling
- 4 cups milk
- 2 small pkgs instant banana pudding
- 2 bananas
Frosting
- 1 8 oz. cream cheese
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 cup Nilla wafers
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil.
- In a stand mixer, or large bowl with electric mixer, mix all the cake ingredients together till well blended. Be careful not to over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 28 minutes.
- Do a toothpick test to make sure it is fully baked. Sit on a cooling rack for at least an hour so it can fully cool.
Filling
- While the cake is cooling, measure the milk. Add in the two packets of banana instant pudding. Use a whisk to fully combine till smooth. Cover and set in the refrigerator for about an hour or until it is set up.
- Once the cake is cooled, use a small dowel or a round handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes about one inch apart in rows up and down the cake. Poke almost all the way down to the bottom.
- Spread the banana pudding over the top. Use the back of a spoon to spread it and push into each of the holes. It may seem like too much pudding, but just keep putting on the pudding. The pudding layer should be thick.
- Peel and slice the bananas and place in a single layer over the top of the pudding.
Frosting
- Combine the white sugar and cream cheese in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, or use an electric hand mixer in a large bowl.
- Turn the mixer on low while slowly adding the 2 cups of cream. Gradually up the speed in order to whip and thicken the cream.
- Add the vanilla extract and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue mixing at a medium high speed until it is thick and smooth like frosting. Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the bananas.
- Put the Nilla Wafers in a sealed Ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin or heavy glass to roll over the top of the wafers till they are crumbles, but not crumbs. I like some bigger pieces. Don't pulverize them or they will be texture of sand.
- If you are serving right away, then sprinkle the wafer crumbles over the top and cut into pieces. We recommend chilling the cake for a bit before serving. Cover and chill. Sprinkle the crumbles over the top just before serving to keep them from getting soft.