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This banana poke cake is the retro dessert shortcut your 1950s housewife alter ego and your 2025 time-crunched self will both adore. It starts with a boxed cake mix—because we’ve got better things to do than bake from scratch when it’s hot out and our mascara is melting. Just poke it full of holes (use the handle of a wooden spoon like Grandma did), pour in that creamy pudding layer, and boom—moist, flavor-packed banana cake magic. It's a total showoff at potlucks, BBQs, and any occasion that requires dessert and applause. Oh, and I’ve got a banana hack that keeps your slices from turning that sad brown color—because no one wants tired fruit on their cake. This one’s easy, fail-proof, and guaranteed to make you the dessert hero without breaking a sweat.
🧾 Ingredients
Sometimes I use evaporated milk in place of the whole milk in this recipe. It makes puddings and custards richer. You could use non-dairy or low-fat milks but the pudding will not be as thick and rich.
🔪 Instructions
Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the top of the cake and pour the condensed milk over top.
Pour the pudding mixture over the cake. Let it chill in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap.
Soak the sliced bananas and pat them dry. Layer them evenly over top of the instant pudding layer.
Spread the whipped topping over the bananas and top with crushed vanilla wafer cookies.
📖 Recipe
Banana Pudding Poke Cake Recipe
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 15.25 ounces butter pecan cake mix or butter yellow cake mix, baked according to instructions on box for a 13x9-inch cake.
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, I use Eagle Brand
- 6.8 ounces packages instant banana pudding, 2 3.4-ounce boxes
- 4 cups milk, cold
- 8 ounces Cool Whip, thawed
- 1 cup Nilla Wafers, crushed
- 3 bananas, sliced - may need more
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice mixed with 1 cup of water, to soak banana slices
Instructions
- Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9 x 13 cake, adding 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla to the batter.
- Bake according to instructions.
- Remove from oven.
- Using a clean wooden spoon handle, poke holes into the warm cake. Make sure to poke the holes all the way to the bottom.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk over the cake, letting it run into the holes and soak in for a minute.
- Set aside.
- Add the instant banana pudding mix and milk to a medium mixing bowl.
- Quickly whisk until well combined but don't let it thicken.
- Pour pudding over the cake and spread it out evenly, lightly
- pressing it down into the holes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- Peel the bananas and slice.
- Add banana slices to lemon juice and water.
- Drain on paper towels and gently pat dry.
- Place banana slices over the top of the chilled cake.
- Spread the whipped topping over the top.
- Crush Nilla Wafers to make 1 cup and evenly sprinkle
- them over the top of the cake.
- To serve, you can add fresh slices of banana and a few, whole 'Nilla Wafers to the top of each serving.
Notes
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- Poke the holes in the cake while it's still warm.
- Be sure to poke the holes all the way down to the bottom of the pan so that the banana pudding flavors each and every bite!
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- Be sure to pick up sweetened condensed milk at the grocery store. =
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- The chilling time is important, so don't rush it. You should make banana pudding poke cake the night before so it sets right.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
📖 Variations
- I like to use a box mix to keep things simple, but if you have a yummy yellow cake recipe you like to make from scratch, go ahead!
- You can swap the wafer cookies with crumbled shortbread cookies or use Teddy Grahams if you're cooking with kids!
- Prefer homemade whipped cream? Feel free to use it instead of the Cool Whip.
- Add a splash of rum to the cake mix in place of the extra vanilla extract for a slightly different yet delicious flavor!
- Some people like to garnish with candied pecans, chocolate chips, a caramel drizzle, or even coconut flakes.
🤫 Cook's secrets -
Hint: Soaking the banana slices in a mixture of lemon juice and water keeps 'em from turning brown as quickly. Just pat them dry before adding them to the cake!
🥫 How to store leftovers
Leftover banana pudding poke cake should be tightly covered with plastic wrap—it's better than aluminum foil in this case. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
You can freeze the cake before adding the pudding and whipped topping. Wrap cakes tightly with plastic and freeze for up to three months. Then, thaw it at room temperature, poke the holes in, and continue with the directions in the recipe card.
However, I don't recommend freezing this cake once it's assembled with the pudding and whipped topping. It'll thaw with a mushy texture.
🍽️ Repurpose leftovers
Leftover poke cake? No problem! Here are 3 ways to repurpose the leftovers.
- Individual cake trifles - Layer pieces of poke cake with more pudding, whipped cream or cool whip, and fruit (raspberries would be amazing) in individual glasses for a beautiful and tasty dessert.
- Cake shake - Blend leftover poke cake with vanilla ice cream and milk to make a rich and creamy cake shake. Top with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry.
- Banana pudding poke cake ice cream - Fold chunks into softened vanilla or banana ice cream and refreeze.
Marye's Tips
You'll serve this type of cake right out of the pan it's baked in, so pick a cute ceramic baking dish if you're taking it to a potluck.
I like to use the back of a wooden spoon to poke the holes because the cake sticks a little more to plastic spoon handles.
👩🍳 FAQs
I recommend the flavor of butter pecan or golden butter cake mix first if you can find it. If not, a yellow cake mix will do the trick in a pinch. Just don't forget the extra vanilla extract!
Nope. Classic banana pudding will mix up too thick to fill in all the holes. Instant pudding mix uses more milk, so it's a little thinner, which makes for a perfect dessert once it soaks into this poke cake and sets.
You'll want enough holes so that the pudding filling can spread evenly throughout the cake. I think I poked about 24 in mine.
However, cooking should be fun, so there's no exact number—this isn't math class, after all! Try to space them about 2 inches apart, but don't stress too much if it's not perfectly precise.
Simply prepare the cake (and bake it) using the box directions. Generally, that means adding some water, vegetable oil, and an egg or two.
I haven't experimented with chocolate and banana pudding, but you can try using a chocolate cake mix if you like. However, the chocolate flavor might overpower the delicate banana pudding flavor.
Instead, if you're looking for a chocolate poke cake, I highly recommend this Easy Butterfinger "Holy Cow" Cake.
💬 Let’s Chat
Y'all, I definitely have a sweet tooth and I've passed that genetic code on to each of my children.
My favorite table at the potluck? The dessert table! This creamy cake fufills all of those sweet cravings every time! And, if you're a banana pudding afficianado like I am be sure to try this Southern banana pudding cheesecake.
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