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Banana Pudding Poke Cake starts with a moist yellow cake mix, poked with a creamy banana pudding mixture, and then topped with homemade whipped cream. Garnish the cake with crushed vanilla wafers and sliced bananas for the best dessert that the whole family will love. A delicious doctored-up boxed cake mix makes the perfect moist cake base for this delicious dessert!
Be sure and try these other family favorite banana desserts – Classic Banana Pudding Dessert, Banana Cake with a luscious and fluffy cream cheese frosting, and homemade Banana Pudding Parfaits.
Banana Pudding Poke Cake Recipe (Banana Pudding Cake)
Banana pudding poke cake has all the flavors of banana cream pie but in a delicious banana pudding poke cake that’s made in one 9×13 pan! The combination of banana pudding, a moist buttery yellow cake mix, banana slices, and crushed Nilla wafer cookies makes this easy dessert recipe one of my family’s favorite desserts.
Poke cakes are the easiest desserts because they start with a box of cake mix and then they’re poked and filled with instant pudding mix. With so many variations of poke cakes, you’re sure to find a favorite – and if banana desserts bursting with banana flavor are your thing, then you are sure to love this banana poke cake recipe.
Easy Ingredients Needed For This Yummy Cake
- Half and Half Milk : You need 4 cups of half and half total for this recipe. It is divided, meaning that you will use some in the cake mixture and the rest for the delicious banana pudding mixture
- Large Eggs
- Butter : I use salted butter but unsalted butter can be used if that’s what you prefer.
- Yellow Cake Mix : Use a yellow cake mix, a golden yellow cake mix, or a butter golden cake mix. Any of the yellow cake mix varieties will work for this cake.
- Instant Banana Cream Pudding : Make sure you are using the instant and not the ‘cook n serve’ variety of pudding.
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Vanilla Wafers
- Sliced Bananas : You will need about 3 ripe bananas for the garnish on top of the cake.
How To Make a Poke Cake With Instant Banana Pudding (Printable Recipe Card Below)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract until combined. Add in the yellow cake mix and stir gently with a rubber spatula until combined well, about 1-2 minutes. Evenly spread the cake mix batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely at room temperature.
Once the cake has cooled, use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in even rows into the cake, about 1-inch apart.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the instant banana pudding mix and half and half, until it’s well combined and starts to thicken – about 2 minutes. Pour the pudding over the cake making sure to fill each hole with pudding. Use a spatula to spread the remaining of the pudding evenly over top of the cake.
Slice the bananas and layer them in a single layer over top the pudding.
Make The Whipped Topping : In a mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Start on low speed and increase speed as needed. This will take about 4-5 minutes of beating.
Spread the whipped cream evenly over the layer of sliced bananas.
Cover the pan with a lid, or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to allow the pudding to set and the flavors to combine. You can refrigerate it up to overnight for eve better results!
When ready to serve, garnish the entire cake with crushed Nilla wafer cookies and/or sliced bananas. You could also garnish each slice of cake before serving.
Can I Add Sliced Bananas To The Cake?
Yes, the recipe calls for a layer of sliced fresh bananas to really infuse that banana flavor into the cake. However, they will start to brown once cut, and especially during the chill time and as the leftovers sit in the fridge. To avoid the brown bananas you can try soaking them first in lemon juice, or omit the banana layer entirely and just add some sliced banana as garnish when serving the cake.
How To Store Leftover Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Keep the poke cake inside the cake pan, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The cake gets better and better, ad more moist, as it sits in the fridge which makes leftovers amazing even on day 5. If you added the layer of bananas then expect for them to be brown.
Serving Suggestions For This Delicious Cake
The cake is best served chilled from the fridge. You can either choose to decorate the entire cake with the crushed Nilla Wafers and fresh banana slices, or decorate and top each slice with them. If you know there will be leftovers then I highly recommend garnishing each cake slice with Nilla Wafers and banana slices right before serving – as the toppings won’t keep well when stored in the fridge for several days.
Banana Poke Cake Recipe Tips
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon, or a similarly-sized object, to poke holes into the cake. You want to use something that is larger in diameter (but not huge) to allow enough space for the thick pudding mixture to soak into the holes.
- The layer of banana slices is optional – they will brown during the chill time and especially once the cake is cut into. You can soak the banana slices in lemon juice to prevent them from browning too fast if wanted. I prefer to add some banana slices to the top of each slice of cake right before serving. The layer of banana slices will add a ton of fresh banana flavor to the cake, which is yummy, but they will also brown. I choose to not add the layer of sliced banana (on top of the pudding layer) when I make this cake.
- Instead of making homemade whipped cream you can use an 8 ounce tub of thawed Cool Whip for the final layer on top of the cake.
- Allow for the chill time before serving. This gives time for the entire cake to infuse all the flavors from the pudding and it makes the cake so moist! It also helps each layer to set and thicken, so you can cut clean and even slices.
More Cake Mix Recipes
- Easy Honey Bun Cake
- Dr Pepper Cake
- Lemon Layered Cake
- Peach Dump Cake
- Berry Crisp Dump Cake
- Easy Strawberry Cake
More Delicious Poke Cake Recipes
- Reese’s Poke Cake
- Butterfinger Poke Cake
- Hawaiian Poke Cake
- Oreo Poke Cake
- Strawberry Jello Poke Cake
- Boston Cream Poke Cake
Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Ingredients
Yellow Cake
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
Banana Pudding Layer
- 2 boxes (3.4 oz each) instant banana cream pudding mix
- 3 cups half and half
Whipped Cream Layer
- 3 bananas (optional banana layer)
- 1 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Toppings
- 3 bananas
- 1/2 cup crushed Nilla Wafers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Make The Yellow Cake : In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer (or whisk), add the eggs, half and half, melted butter, and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add in the yellow cake mix and beat on low speed until combined well, about 1-2 minutes.Evenly spread the cake mix batter into the prepared pan.4 large eggs, 1 cup half and half, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
- Bake for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely at room temperature.
- Once the cake has cooled, use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in even rows into the cake, about 1-inch apart.
- Banana Pudding Layer : In a mixing bowl, whisk together the instant banana pudding mix and half and half, until it's well combined and starts to thicken – about 2 minutes.Pour the pudding mixture over the cake making sure to fill each hole with pudding. Use a spatula to spread the remaining of the pudding evenly over top of the cake.2 boxes (3.4 oz each) instant banana cream pudding mix, 3 cups half and half
- Optional Banana Layer : Slice the bananas and layer them in a single layer over top the pudding. * This banana layer will brown as it sits in the fridge during the chill time, and especially once the cake is cut into. I omit the banana layer usually and just garnish each slice with bananas instead. The banana layer does add a ton of fresh banana flavor!3 bananas
- Make The Whipped Topping : In a mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Start on low speed and increase speed as needed. This will take about 4-5 minutes of beating. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the layer of sliced bananas.1 cups heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cover the pan with a lid, or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to allow the pudding to set and the flavors to combine. You can refrigerate it up to overnight for even better results!
- When ready to serve, garnish the entire cake with crushed Nilla wafer cookies and/or sliced bananas. You could also garnish each slice of cake before serving.3 bananas, 1/2 cup crushed Nilla Wafers
Notes
Nutrition
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