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Banana Pudding Poke Cake takes store-bought cake and pudding mixes and dresses them up in the most delicious way! Doctored up cake mix is baked to perfection, then holes are poked across it so the creamy banana pudding can be spread evenly. Don’t forget the dulce de leche, whipped cream, cookies, and banana toppings!
Banana Pudding and Poke Cake: A Meet Cute
Marrying up banana pudding and poke cake may have been the greatest thing I’ve ever done. I’m only slightly exaggerating. This banana pudding poke cake recipe will… dare I say… make you go bananas! Every single bite tastes like summertime and sunshine.
The cake itself is made with box cake mix, but don’t worry. With ingredients like sour cream and vanilla extract in the mix, no one who’s tried a bite has ever clocked that it’s a cake mix cake! It’ll just be our little secret that Mr. Hines helped you out with this one.
The dulce de leche, whipped cream, fresh banana slices and Nilla Wafers spread across the top of the banana poke cake really elevate it in the most amazing way. It’s hard to say what I love most about this cake when every forkful is perfection.
And yes, it’s very easy! It takes about 2 hours from start to finish, but 1 hour of that time is just waiting for it to chill to perfection.
Variations
- If you’re having trouble finding banana cream pudding mix, you could substitute with vanilla or even a cheesecake flavor.
- Add some nuts to the topping for more texture.
- Melt some peanut butter and drizzle it on top along with the dulce de leche. Give it the Elvis treatment!
Storage Instructions
For leftovers, wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap or foil and keep chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup (153 g) sour cream
- ¾ cup (177 ml) milk
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 box white cake mix of choice, I recommend Duncan Hines or Pillsbury
Toppings:
- 3.5 ounce (99 g) package banana cream pudding mix
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) milk
- 13 ounce (369 g) can Dulce de leche, or homemade dulce de leche
- 8 ounce (227 g) container whipped topping, thawed
- 1 sliced banana
- 5 Nilla Wafers, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F (177 °C) and prepare a 9×13-inch cake pan by spraying generously with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, sour cream, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Add in the cake mix and whisk until there are no dry spots remaining.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake according to package instructions, approximately 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack then use the end of a wooden spoon (or whatever else you have readily available) to poke holes all over the cake.
- Combine the pudding mix and the milk into a small bowl and whisk until slightly thickened. Pour over the cake and make sure to get as much as possible in each of the holes. Spread the remaining evenly over the cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Once the pudding has set. Top with dulce de leche (you may need to warm it slightly in the microwave until it is a spreadable consistency) or caramel sauce. Spread evenly over the cake and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
- Top with whipped cream, sliced bananas, and crushed Nilla Wafers.
- Cut and serve.
