Banana Pudding Poke Cake
This Banana Pudding Poke Cake takes all the rich flavor of banana pudding, cranks it to 11, and then adds it to the cake. Moist, tender yellow cake is poked with holes, filled with a cream cheese banana pudding mixture, and then topped with whipped cream.
Banana pudding is a classic dessert that always makes an appearance at any party. Poke cake is much the same way. Over here at our house, we love to make mashups of our favorite foods, so we combined poke cake with banana pudding to make this delicious dessert. It’s the ultimate treat for any poke cake and/or banana pudding lover.
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It only uses a few simple ingredients from your kitchen or local grocery store.
- It’s an easy recipe even beginners can make.
- The banana pudding filling is extra rich and creamy, thanks to cream cheese.
- It’s made with boxed yellow cake mix to make it even easier!
🛒Ingredients
You’ll only need a few basic ingredients to make this recipe, and you’ll find them all in your kitchen or your local grocery store. They’re all listed here, but you’ll find their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Yellow cake mix box
- Water
- Vegetable oil
- Large eggs
- Cream cheese – softened
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Whipped topping
- Instant banana pudding
- Milk
- Vanilla wafers for garnish
- Bananas for topping
🔪 How to Make Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Making this cake is super easy. It just takes a little mixing and baking. You’ll be all done in no time.
Step 1: Prep
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
Step 2: Bake the Cake
Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions, then pour it into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 3: Poke Holes in the Cake
Let the cake cool slightly. Then, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake.
Step 4: Whip the Cream Cheese
Whip the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth in a mixing bowl.
Step 5: Make the Banana Pudding
Mix the pudding and 2 cups of milk in another bowl until creamy and smooth. Then, fold a container of whipped topping into the mixture.
Step 6: Make the Filling
Combine the cream chees mixture and banana pudding mixture to create the filling.
Step 7: Fill the Cake
Spread the banana pudding cream cheese mixture over the cake, being sure to get it into all the holes.
Step 8: Top
Top the cake with a layer of whipped cream and crushed vanilla wafers.
Step 9: Chill
Cover the cake with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours. Garnish with fresh banana slices before serving.
📝Variations
- Try adding a layer of sliced bananas between the pudding layer and the whipped topping layer.
- You can leave the whipped topping off if you prefer.
- Top the cake with chopped nuts for more flavor and texture.
- Yellow, vanilla, butter, or white cake all work for this recipe.
If you’re a fan of banana cake, then try our banana cake with brown butter frosting.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- 9×13 baking dish
- Wooden spoon
🥫 Storage
Refrigerate this cake in a covered container for up to 3 days. Freezing is not recommended. The pudding will break and become watery.
Serve With
Serve this delicious banana pudding poke cake with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. You can also pair it with fresh fruit and some chocolate for a truly decadent dessert.
This recipe is also a classic for holiday parties, backyard bashes, cookouts, and potlucks. The flavors pair well with just about anything.
💭 Tips
- If you opt to add sliced banana between the pudding and whipped topping layers, toss them with some lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Poke your holes about halfway or a little more into the cake, but don’t go all the way through or the cake will fall apart.
- Keep your holes about an inch apart so the cake doesn’t fall apart while you cut it.
- While 2 hours is the minimum chilling time for this cake, overnight is even better!
⁉️ FAQ
As the name says, a poke cake is a cake that has holes poked in it. These holes are then filled with a Jello or pudding mixture. The entire cake is then usually topped with whipped cream.
There are three main reasons a poke cake falls apart. First, if you use too much liquid like Jello or a thinner sauce, the cake will get soggy and won’t hold its shape. Second, if your holes are too close, the cake will fall apart when sliced. Third, if your hole goes through the cake, it won’t hold its shape when you cut it into slices.
Freezing anything made with pudding is not recommended. Pudding usually breaks when defrosted, creating a watery, grainy mess.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy poke cakes? Then try these delicious recipes:
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- 9×13 baking dish
- wooden spoon or skewer
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces yellow cake mix
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 24 ounces whipped topping
- 5 ounce instant banana pudding
- 2 cups milk
- Vanilla wafers for garnish
- Bananas for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare the cake mix as directed on the box and pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Set aside to cool slightly.
- Using the end of a wooden spoon poke hole all over your cake. You want to make the holes fairly large so the filling can get down into them.
- Next prepare the filling.
- In a mixing bowl whip together the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.
- In another bowl prepare the banana pudding by mixing with the 2 cups of milk.
- Fold one container of whipped topping into the banana pudding mixture.
- Combine the cream cheese mixture with the pudding mixture.
- Spoon the banana pudding mix on top of the cake making sure it gets down into the holes.
- Cover the top with a layer of whipped cream and crushed vanilla wafers.
- Place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Garnish with fresh bananas before serving.
