I’ve made banana pudding parfaits and peanut butter banana pudding and today I’m going to continue my obsession with a banana pudding poke cake! Have you guys ever had poke cake? We used to make them all the time with strawberry Jello and Cool Whip, and it turns out banana pudding is just as delicious. Watch the video to see how I made it and then scroll on down for the steps.
The first thing you should do is make the cake. We’re just using a boxed white cake mix and making it according to the package directions.
Mix together the cake mix, water, oil and eggs until smooth. Then pour into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Once the cake has cooled completely, poke holes all throughout it with the handle of a wooden spoon. This will allow the pudding to soak in when we go to pour it on top.
Mix together two (4 serving size) boxes of vanilla or banana instant pudding mix with 3 cups cold milk. Then pour it, right away, over the cake.
Spread the pudding evenly over the cake with a rubber spatula and then cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour (this can be done the night before). Once chilled, dollop the top of the cake with the whipped topping. Spread out with a rubber spatula to cover the top completely.
Right before serving, decorate the top of the cake with fresh banana slices and crushed vanilla wafer cookies.
The cake can be made up to a day in advance and kept in the fridge. Just wait to add the banana slices until ready to serve, so that they don’t turn brown on you.
You can cut the cake and serve it in squares for a neater presentation, or you can go rustic with it and just scoop it out with a big spoon.
- 1 box white cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 (4-serving) boxes instant vanilla or banana pudding
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 3 ripe bananas, sliced
- 1 cup vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or butter and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, water, and oil until smooth. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake according to package directions. It should be golden brown and when a toothpick or cake tester is inserted in the middle, it'll come out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Poke holes all throughout the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. In a large bowl, stir together the pudding mixes with the milk and immediately pour over the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Spread the top of the cake with the whipped topping. Right before serving, add the banana slices and crushed cookies on top. Serve immediately.
