Banana Pudding Poke Cake: the easy dessert recipe you’ll love

This Banana Pudding Poke Cake combines the flavor of rich, moist banana pudding with the fun of a poke cake. It’s an easier dessert to make than red velvet poke cake because it requires less ingredients, so you don’t need to be an expert baker. Simply mix a cake batter, bake, poke with a few holes and top with a filling. If you love banana pudding, you’ll love this poke cake—it’s got all the flavor of a banana pudding packed into a cake. This banana-flavored dessert will definitely be a crowd pleaser at your next event. And your guests won’t even know how easy it is!

How to make Banana Pudding Poke Cake

Prepare the yellow cake mix according to the package instructions (if you don’t have boxed cake mix, you can use any standard cake mix). Pour into greased baking pan. Bake the cake in a 180°C/350°F. Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes.

Poke the cake full of holes. Make sure that they’re large enough. Usually, the back of a wooden spoon will make a nice size. The hole should be large enough that all the liquid soaks in. Mix the pudding mix with milk and then mix in the rest of the milk. It must be smooth and lump free. Beat the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Pour the pudding mixture onto the poked cake.

Add the bananas and then whipped cream. Chill the Banana Pudding Poke Cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Decorate with your favorite cookies before serving. You can also serve the slice with an extra dollop of whipped cream. Make sure to clean the knife after each slice, to ensure that the cuts come out clean with too many crumbs. You can use any topping you like. Grated or melted chocolate, or nuts will also match well with the banana flavor.

Tips

Don’t skip the sliced bananas, it adds the banana flavor you want in this Banana Pudding Poke Cake!

For more banana flavor, make sure to use ripe bananas. They are the ones with a few brown spots.

For added texture, you can incorporate nuts in the topping. Serve with additional crushed nuts (walnuts, almond, and pecans all work great!).

How to store Banana Pudding Poke Cake

Leftover Banana Pudding Poke Cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. The bananas may brown a but and become slightly mushy, but it will still be delicious.

You can freeze the yellow cake base and then assemble it on the day of serving. Simply allow it to cool, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature before you poke it with holes and proceed with the recipe.  You can also freeze the cake with the pudding topping (but don’t add the whipped cream and bananas, leave these for just before serving).

Instructions

Prepare yellow cake mix following the package instructions. Pour into buttered and floured baking pan. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (350 F). Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked completely. Cool the cake down for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile mix your pudding with a little bit of hot milk to prevent lumps from forming. Add the rest of the milk while whisking constantly.

Beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks forms.

Poke holes in the baked yellow cake.

Cover it with pudding. Add sliced bananas and cream on top.

Chill the cake in fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Decorate with sugar cookies and cookie crumbles before slicing.