Best Banana Pudding Poke Cake is an easy original recipe made with cake mix poked with banana pudding, topped with Cool Whip and crushed Nilla Wafers!
BEST BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE
CAN YOU ADD SLICED BANANAS TO THIS CAKE?
This is made without slices of bananas, however, you could certainly add those on there if you like. My husband and I decided we would just add some freshly sliced bananas right on top of our individual pieces of cake which turned out to be a delicious idea. If I had put them on the cake while I was making it, they would have turned brown within a day. It also makes the cake really pretty if you serve the individual slices with a bit of sliced banana and a Nilla Wafer on top.
CAN YOU USE OTHER FLAVORS OF CAKE AND PUDDING?
Absolutely! Since creating this recipe, I have added about twenty other poke cake combinations. Some of the most popular ones are: BOSTON CREAM POKE CAKE, RED VELVET POKE CAKE, OREO PUDDING POKE CAKE and LEMON BLUEBERRY POKE CAKE.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
yellow cake mix
ingredients needed to make cake (eggs, oil & water)
instant banana pudding
milk
whipped topping (COOL WHIP)
Nilla wafers
HOW TO MAKE BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE:
Originally published: June 2012
Updated and republished: May 2019
BEST BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- ingredients needed to make cake: eggs, oil & water
- 2 (3.4 oz) packages instant banana pudding
- 4 cups milk
- 1 (8 oz) tub frozen whipped topping (COOL WHIP) thawed
- 20 vanilla wafers crushed
Instructions
- Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9x13 cake.
- Once cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes.
- Then, with a wooden spoon handle, begin poking holes in the cake. You want the holes to be big enough so that the pudding has plenty of room to get down in there. Be sure to poke right down to the bottom of the cake.
- In a bowl, whisk together instant pudding mix with 4 cups milk. Stir until all the lumps are gone.
- Pour pudding over cake. Taking care to pour it right into the holes as much as possible.
- Spread it all out and using the back of the spoon, gently push pudding down into the holes.
- Put the cake into the fridge to set and cool (about 2 hours.)
- Once your cake has completely cooled, spread on whipped topping.
- Crush the vanilla wafers. Leave some of the pieces big. It's nice to have a bit of a crunch when you eat the cake.
- Spread crushed wafers onto the top of the cake before serving.
Video
Notes
Keep refrigerated.
Nutrition
CRAVING MORE POKE CAKE/BANANA RECIPES? CHECK THESE OUT!
BOSTON CREAM POKE CAKE
RED VELVET POKE CAKE
ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE POKE CAKE
PINEAPPLE PUDDING POKE CAKE
CHERRY ALMOND POKE CAKE
CARROT PUDDING POKE CAKE
LEMON BLUEBERRY POKE CAKE
BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
CINNAMON ROLL POKE CAKE
Turn your pc volume down if my belly grumbles disturb you!
I know I don't comment much anymore but I read all your posts. I MUST try this one. Do you think I could put a layer of sliced bananas between layers of cake better? Or…maybe I could add a couple mushed up nanners in the cake batter before baking??? Just thinking again.
I made banana pudding for my husband the other day and he said it was too sweet. He thought maybe the cream cheese in the recipe was too much. Now I'm on the hunt for a different recipe…….
Made this. Loved it!
So good Brandie – thank you! What an ingenious idea! The family went nuts over it!
In this banana pudding recipe, are you using INSTANT or COOKED pudding?
Hey Sue, you want to use instant.
Hi I m about to make this great recipe …. is there a reason you have to use instant pudding? Please reply …. thanks in advance
it’s instant or it would say cook and serve
I never knew what a "poke cake" was! My mother made this same kind of cake using a white cake mix and pouring strawberry jello over it. She "iced" it with cool whip and garnished with fresh strawberries and peaches. It, too, gets better after sitting in the fridge for at least over night.
This looks delicious! Unfortunately, I have just found out that Soy Milk does not thicken Jello instant pudding. It works perfectly for regular cooked Jello pudding mix. I went ahead and poured the mixture over the cake, which will definitely be moist!
Try unsweetened almond milk. It's the best of the nut-milks when it comes to baking!
Try fat free pudding. It needs the casim (sp?) to work. I used to use a whey product and it never worked but it did work with fat free
you use cool whip not cream chesse
People go back and read the recipie AGAIN ,,, nothing said about CREAM CHEESE.. it does call for COOL WHIP .
Made this for our church homecoming. Banana pudding has always been my favorite desert…not anymore…get out of my fridge banana pudding, here comes banana pudding poke cake. This will definitely go to all church & family gatherings with my from this day forward. Taste better the longer the left overs last…Time is a friend to this desert…
There is a poke cake like this in an old recipe book that my grandmother gave me years back, submitted by one of the ladies. She called it a Quilt Cake. German chocolate cake mix as directed. In the holes, pour one jar of caramel ice cream topping and one can of sweetened condensed milk. Good thing is, you can pour right into holes.After chilled, top with cool whip then shaved chocolate. You could use other ice cream toppings. We tried it once with butterscotch. I am looking forward to trying this banana pudding recipe!
Do you mix the Carmel and can of condensed milk? Or pour separately?
Oh, dear. I can usually resist these kinds of desserts but you've hit upon the flavors that most remind me of childhood and now I see a poke cake in my future. Sigh… 🙂
I love all your poke cake recipes! I can not wait to try this one!!!!
Yum! Looks so delicious, and simple too! Great summer cake!
What a fabulous recipe, this looks amazing! 🙂
Thanks Brandi! I found the nanner puddin' recipe and I'm still holding my sides because of "whatever cranks your tractor"!!
I'm gonna use that one for sure!
;o)
Oh heavens to betsy. Goodbye diet. This looks DELISH!!!!
Hey Betty! Thank you SO much for your sweet comment. And that was a good question so I'll be sure to update the post. Yes, please keep this refrigerated. 🙂
Made this for my hubby for his birthday and he loved it. You are a GENIUS! Thanks again, I love all of your recipes and have tried many! All were good :-)!!!
Do you poke holes through the cake?? Or just to the bottom and not all the way through??? Making this tomorrow!!! Need to know! Thanks in advance!
Oh my this look so good!! Love banana pudding, and I know I would love this dish! Seems quick and easy 🙂
www.lifeofamodernhousewife.com
That looks VERY good.
This cake sounds great! I, too, love to make poke cakes and poke cupcakes. I use a plastic squeeze bottle to fill the holes. It saturates the cakes better!
My hubby LOVES 'nana puddin'. I can't wait to make this for him.
I'm thinking that around the holidays, use Devil's Food cake, white chocolate pudding, peppermint icing and crushed grasshoppers or thin mints… mmmmmm… drools…
Or lemon cake with pistachio pudding and almond biscotti…
or, or, or… omg, my brain can't take it! So many possibilities!
Great recipe! This looks so good!
Wow! This looks delicious!
A wonderful recipe. So easy and quick and delicious. Thanks for the great post:)
Another fabulous creation from your kitchen that makes our mouths water! Congrats on being featured in Top 9 at Foodbuzz! Your accolades just keep rolling in! You deserve every one of them too. I'd weigh a ton if I lived close to you. =)
This pudding cake looks amazing! I just love anything banana-flavored!
Made this for a cookout recently. No one had ever heard of a “poke cake”! Well, they’ve heard of it now! LOL! So good girl – thank you!
Congratulations on your foodbuzz top 9, today!
As if you would be surprised but…. We are making this for dessert tonight:))
Sounds yummy! Can't wait to try it. I'm going to visit my son and his family and definitely plan on making there. Thanks
My husband loves banana pudding but doesn't love the bananas in there so this is perfect. My parents make a cake simular to this and use a straw to poke the holes! Thanks again and I'm in the process of making this cake now!
Are you going to use a straw or a wooden spoon…curious…would there be more holes with a straw?
I can testify that it was amazing! You are so creative. This one is going to be a huge hit. I can tell!
I am making now it looks awesome!! I can’t stop trying to take bites. So good!
I wonder what a meringue topping would be like? Have you tried it with a meringue?
Made this for a work potluck. It was the first thing gone! I sent everyone to your site to grab the recipe!! I wouldn’t change a thing!
I know of another poke cake… it's the only dessert I know how to make! Ha! German chocolate cake filled with one can of evaporated milk and carmel sauce/topping… then you mix the thawed cool whip with a cup of carmel topping before topping off with heath bits. It's YUMMY!
I'm super excited for your cake poke recipes… they are EASY and will knock people's socks off!
Stealing from my recipe above, I wonder if it would taste good to mix the thawed cool whip with a cup of chocolate topping before spreading on this banana pudding poke cake? Banana is great but chocolate banana… um, yeah! 🙂
You are the poke cake queen! Another delicious recipe Brandie!
~Kim
I usually bring a supermarket cake to my monthly book club meetings. I've done this so often, the other members make fun of me about it. I made the banana poke cake for my book club meeting last night. HUGE success! Everyone LOVED it! The host wouldn't let me take the leftovers home. He wanted his visiting in-laws to try it! I'm going to try other flavors next time. Thanks for sharing!
Made this over the weekend. Delicious!!!!!!!!!!
Banana Cream will work great!~ 🙂
I can't find instant banana pudding mix at the two stores I went to. I have the banana cream mix, will that work or will it be too big of a taste difference?
Awesome! Can't wait to have it on the 4th!! Thank you.
Angie, that should be fine I would think. Just make sure to keep it refrigerated.
Do you think it would still be good if I made this two days before serving? My fil woul love it but not sure I have time the day before be go.
Just finished pouring the pudding on, now in the fridge to cool. Looks so good! I used sugar free pudding with regular cake mix because my husband and his brother are diabetic. Every little bit helps! I hope it's just as good! YUM YUM Thanks for the recipe!
Silly question – did you use a 9X9 or a 9X13 baking dish? The dish in the pictures look much more square then rectangle.
I LOVE your blog! I've challenged myself to cook something new for dinner every night this week (hubby and I are tired of the same old recipes). After finding your blog it is going to be so incredibly easy!!
Thank you for all you do to get us these wonderful recipes! 🙂
I think you could use the bananas instead of the oil in the cake mix. I just finished the cake for our 4 th party and don't know how it's going to taste, but I used sugar free pudding and light coolwhip so I don't think it's too bad calorie wise. The homemade ice cream I'm making to serve with it is a different story . Lol
Just made this..AWESOME!!!!!
Made to specific recipe and it is fantastic. Can't wait to make e Boston cream and cookie ones.
thanks for the great blog and great recipes.
can this be frozen?
Thank you so much for this receipe!! I am doing making for a cookout this Saturday but I'm using a lemon cake and lemon pudding. I hope it turns out like a lemon icebox cake. *fingers crossed*
Omg!!! This looks so Awsome just went to the store and got the stuff to make it my family is going to LOVE it… thanks so much 🙂
I think the strawberry sounds good. Maybe you can use strawberry glaze in place of pudding?
This looks wonderful and I plan to try it this weekend. However, do you think there could be a strawberry version that would be like strawberry shortcake?
Love reading all these comments! And I'm so happy to hear of the successes!
To answer the question if it can be frozen – I honestly have never tried it so I can't really say for sure how it would taste as it defrosted. I just am not sure how tasty that would be really. If anyone gives it a try – let me know please. 🙂
I made this cake for the 4th, and was so easy and yummy. It was a big hit with my husband who is usually politely noncommittal about new recipes. He loved it. We talked about making a lemon cake in a similar way, but lo and behold, up pops your recipe for one. Love your recipes. Thank you! Marie in Oklahoma
I made this tonight like everyone else! I put the nilla wafers on the side, however I put sliced strawberries on top and bananas on the side! It was awesome. I'm not much of a sweets eater but this fit the bill. Thanks for the awesome idea and thanks for sharing. Im somewhat greedy. I can make some great things but never share.
I grew up on these and we used to call them poke n pour cakes !
Don't really remember making it in banana flavor though so off to make this flavor now :))
Thanks for sharing I too will pass this flavor on!
Had to make this sugar-free for the hubby, so the banana-flavored pudding was unavailable in that option. What I decided to do was to buy the vanilla sugar-free pudding, and then add the bananas to the cake mix instead of the eggs. (Because I forgot to buy the eggs, dontcha know. LOL) And it was fantastic!! So if there are any of you out there who have to roll sugar-free, you can use the sugar-free cake mix with 2 medium bananas in place of the eggs, and sugar-free vanilla pudding for a delicious dessert!! 😉
I found sugar free banana and banana cream pudding at Walmart:))
Just wanted to pass that on !
This is a wonderful recipe. I made if for a birthday party and it was a winner! Thank you!
I'm making this Sunday for my brothers birthday dinner! Hope to knock the socks off everyone in the family!
Especially because I am breaking family strawberry cake tradition for this recipe! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. Trying it tonight for a small dinner party.
My daughter -in-law makes a cake similar to this only she pours jello over top to soak in holes,and then cool whip as a frosting.She made a strawberry one with the jello,and fresh strawberries for garnish.yummy
Thank you for sharing your recipes. I made two last night. This banana cream poke cake and the raviolis. My husband and i loved them both!!! I can't wait for my daycare kids to have the rest of the cake tomorrow for snack… This will guarantee that I don't eat it all myself. *grin*
Keep the great ideas coming!!
Made this yesterday and Oh Boy! Couldn't be easier to make and it was a definite hit! And yes, it is better the next day. I doubt seriously it will last until day three, but one can hope!
I'm going to try the Boston Cream Poke cake next. My nephew in law loves Boston Cream Pies and this should be just up his alley!
Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful recipes with us! You're the best!
all i can say is wow, once a month we have a family sunday,
( only way to see everyone, all so busy)I made the banana poke cake,used sf on everything i could(no one could tell,a couple of them say they can always taste the diff.)after a big meal not to many want dessert,so i always have cakes left, but not this time. after a couple tried then saying how good it was, then others had to try.I didn't get but a little bite,ooohh so good.gonna make the coconut one next month..think i need to make 2 huh?
This recipe is amazing! So simple and delicious…I brought it to a house party and it was a huge hit! I will definitely be making it again and can't wait to try the other variations of this!
Oh my goodness! Had a house full of young people today and made this cake. It received 12 out of 14 thumbs up! Now, I just have to figure out how to make it less fattening! LOL! Thanks for sharing!
Brandie ~ I have never seen a Poke Cake before coming across your chocolate Oreo Poke cake on Pinterest. I decided to use Rainbow Chip cake mix (since I had it in the cupboard) and banana cream pudding! Then I found this recipe and I'm going to add the Cool Whip and crumbled Nilla Wafers. I'm bringing it to my new mother-in-law's house for a family picnic she is having.
It looks great and I'm sure it tastes even better!! Thanks!!
Can't wait for more recipes!
I just made this last night for my son's 1st birthday and it was a huge hit! I featured it today on my blog about my Pinterest discoveries. Thanks for introducing me to the concept of poke cakes!
365ishpins.blogspot.com
Just made this for my sons 22nd Birthday today!I have not tried it but he loves banana pudding so i am sure he will love it!
I make all these poke hole cakes now for bbq events pot lucks you name it they are always a hit! Thanks a whole bunch!
I made this last week and it was AMAZING!!! This morning I made a variation using strawberry cake,cheesecake flavored pudding and graham crackers. Its cooling in the fridge and I can WAIT!!! Thanks for a fast, easy, affordable go to dessert!!!
I bet that was yummy!
I made one yesterday with pistachio pudding cause I didn't have vanilla. It came out very delish.I sure yours is going yo very delish!!!
Made this yesterday for my DH since we absolutely LOVE Banana Puddin, we're in the south who doesn't?!?! LOL The only variation was I added some vanilla extract to the pudding itself & sliced banana's ontop of the pudding. You are right the crunch def adds to it. This was SOOOOOOOOO delicious all the guys in the house ate it up in less than 24hours. I was told this is def a must-do REPEAT!! Thank you soo much for making the guys in our house happy!! 😀
I have my cake in the oven baking. I cant wait i'm taking it to work tomorrow hope they love it. When i mix my pudding im gonna sub some of the milk for a can of eagle brand. Hope its not over kill but anything with eagle brand is awesome, right?
Made this cake for my boyfriends birthday! Him and his family loved it! Great recipe. Thanks!!
This sounds so delicious. I'll try it right tomorrow morning. It's going to be my first poke cake since we don't really have them in Germany. I'll let you know how it worked out for me 😉
Can I use French vanilla jello pudding?
You could use French Vanilla but you'll lose that Banana flavor that makes this a banana pudding poke cake. Unless, maybe you were going to add sliced bananas on it??
I featured you on my blog tonight. Hope you enjoy it and get lots of traffic from it. Wonderful recipe and pictures. www.richestoragsbydori.blogspot.com/2012/08/banana-pudding-poke-cake.html
Just made this today. My husband and I love it. The part I hated most about my regular recipe was that the bananas and wafers getting soggy. This is perfect especially when their added as needed. Thanks!!
Made this today,first time ever making a poke cake and it was so amazing! Think I may have to make another tomorrow. I ended up using 1 box banana and the other coconut puddings,my mistake when buying them. Also I added sliced bananas over the pudding then the cool whip,then sprinkled the top with the crushed vanilla wafers AND toasted some coconut. OMG!!! Everyone loved it! Thank you for sharing the recipes 🙂
I found this recipe on Pinterest (where else – LOL) and decided to try it. I made it last week and took it to work for a birthday. It was a big hit. So easy, and so yummy. Thanks for the idea. Now to see what other "poke" cakes I can dream up!
OMG!!!!! This cake is sooooo YUMMY!!!! I need to poke my hole bigger next but other than that it was GREAT!!!!! Thanks 🙂
I made this for a family dinner today and it was fabulous. My daughter loved it because her favorite part of banana pudding is the Nilla wafers so I put a layer of the minis between the pudding and Cool Whip. Can't wait to try the Red Velvet poke cake! Thanks for sharing.
I help the ladies at my church make quilts. We always take a break and have some sort of snack. We take turns bringing in baked goods. So I am always on the lookout for easy and delicious recipes! This one is super yummy! I can't wait to try different flavored cake mixes and puddings too! Thanks soo much!
I made this cake to celebrate someone's birthday at work. I had every intention of posting a pic of it however by the time I got my camera they had already torn into it. Needless to say the cake had a life span of about 45 minutes as folks went back for multiples. I'm definitely making this again.
Made this for a party and it was freaking amazing! It's the best cake I ever had! Everyone at the party loved it too. I added sliced bananas on top. Amazing! Thanks for a new favorite recipe!
Just made this for a party it is so good!
So I am needing to make this cake for a family event and I was wondering if anyone had tried making in two days in advance. Does it still taste good on day two?
I made this last night for this weekend because the kids are out of school. I left the crushed vanilla wafer layer off because we were worried about them holding up in the fridge. I served it tonight with some sliced banana and a few vanilla wafers on the side and the boys loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
I got everything to make this recipe, but I thought it called for (1) package of pudding mix… I made this for the first time with 1 package of pudding instead of 2, and it worked great! Since I didn't have tons of pudding to spare, I poured it gently into all my holes I poked in the cake. Had enough to fill all the holes, and a nice thin layer on top! So if you can only use one package, it works just the same! I loved it, it wasn't too pudding! I thought this ratio worked very well. Plus, I added bananas on top after it cooled, a layer of whip cream, and then the nilla wafers.. I think if I had 2 packages of pudding, I wouldn't have been able to close the lid on the container lol! Thanks for the great recipe, I will be making it again!
l make this with cherry chip cake mix..poke holes…make cherry jello with half the water…chill intil just starting to thicken and pour into holes…1 package vanilla pudding and 1 package dream whip made according to package direction in the same bowl…spread over top and chill..refreshing in the summer
There is a strawberry version, my moms been making it for years, also a pineapple one to. Same as above but u pour the frozen strawberries in the holes, the ones that come in the carton, then add the pudding, then the whip cream, for the pineapple one get crushed pineapple in juice pour in holes and then add ur pudding and cool whip. It's awesome! I'm goin to try this one to:).happy eating!
The large bowl of yellow bananas sits tauntingly on the kitchen bench, teasing and tempting all that pass it by, but they know these bananas aren’t for eating. LOL
Absolutely the BEST cake EVER !!!!!My family LOVED it … i made one yesterday and was sent back to the store today to grab the ingredients to make another one !!!! thank you soooo much <3
I recently made this since my husband loves banana creme pie. He was nice enough to buy the ingredients for me and he bought banana creme pudding instead of just banana. We thought we had a disaster on our hands because the pudding didn't seem to "sink" into the cake like it should. Plus we also let the pudding set too long. But, it was still very tasty, and even better the next day like you said! And my husband thinks he's spoiled. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I've tried a few from your site and it's always delicious. 🙂
My son loves banana pudding but can't eat raw bananas. I made the cake and put some mashed ripe bananas into the cake mix (along with the oil) and we got a nice banana flavor in the cake. We are thrilled with the results. Thanks for all your great recipes.
Yummy! Just finished a slice and will be making this again soon!
OMG This cake looks amazing! Thanksgiving is next week and I have been looking for something to serve for dessert instead of the traditional apple and pumpkin pies that everyone eats but gets tired of. I think this will be a BIG HIT! I can't wait to make it! And eat it! LOL
Thanks for this recipe!!! I love banana pudding but only the day it is made…don't like how the bananas turn black…LOL
This will be great (and easy)and like you I love "Poke Cakes".
Thanks Again 🙂
Donna
I wish I had seen this one before the red velvet poke cake- I am making it for Thanksgiving but I would have enjoyed the banana pudding one more. Thanks for the ideas and keep them coming!
I'm making this tonight for Thanksgiving everyone is so excited about it!
I made this today for Thanksgiving. And all i have to say is that i'm so glad i found this on pinterest because it was DEE-LISH-OUS!!!! A++++ lol
I made this cake for Thanksgiving. It was a big hit. Everyone loved it. The only problem was they ate it all and now I have to make another. It was very good and I will make it again many times. Thank you for sharing the recipe. And girl, everybody on the internet is copying you now. Look what you started – ha! We saw it here first though!
I made this for the first time at Thanksgiving.Let me just say it was so good I almost slapped my momma..(hehe) My husband called today from work and asked if I would make it for his job tomorrow..It is baking as I type. His favorite cake is the pineapple delight that I make which is almost just like a poke cake but this is closing in almost as a tie. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours.
Like the two comments before mine, I made this for my family Thanksgiving feast. Needless to say, it didnt not last long and was eaten up before all the chocolate desserts. Between the layer of pudding and whipped topping, I put a layer of bananas. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written and it was magically delicious!! Thanks for posting.
Oh me, oh my…this is quite the cake!! My father would go gaga over this as would everyone else. Thank you for ANOTHER awesome recipe Brandie!!
Im just starting to explore my culinary talent…lol. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My cake is baking right now! 🙂
This recipe looks awesome! To pour my pudding over the cake, I put about half of the made pudding into a sandwich bag, then cut a small hole into the corner and directly poured it into the holes I had put in my cake, then poured the rest from my bowl over the cake. I found this to be helpful at least 🙂 My cake is currently cooling and am very excited to see how it turns out! 🙂
This looks and sounds amazing! I love banana whether it's in a pie, cake or cocktail! I will defiantly be making this one soon. Thanks for the recipe =)
I am having a difficult time finding Instant banana pudding..Jello makes a banana cream pudding, is that the same or can it be used in this recipe? Looks like the brand in your photo is unfamiliar to me..do you recall what store that comes from?
We have Giant,Safeway, Shopper's Food warehouse, Harris Teeter near by.
The brand of pudding on the photo is from the store: Walmart. Other posts here say they have used the banana cream flavor or vanilla flavor and has worked fine. Hope this helps
I have made this cake three times and it gets rave reviews. I like it because it has no bsananas in it, which always turn dark. It is a keeper.
Coming over from The Better Baker's blog–oh my gosh this is probably my favorite poke cake idea ever! I'm obsessed with banana pudding too and I'm a real cake nut so putting them together is just really my cup of tea. I gotta try this!
Can you make this the night before you need it and just add the pudding on it and then adding the rest of the recipe the day you need it?
I made this today and it was AMAZING! My hubby & son really loved it! Thank you 🙂
Yay! Woo Hoo! So happy this was a hit for you. I really appreciate y'all taking the time to let me know how a recipe turned out for you!
Anonymous – you really need to to put the pudding into a warm cake. But I will tell you, you could make this whole thing up and pop it in the fridge the day before you need it. You aren't putting sliced bananas on it so they won't brown and honestly, I think this almost tastes better the day after you make it. I would just wait til the last minute to add the crushed Nilla Wafers on top. Hope that helps! ~Brandie
Hi Brandie… I found your recipt on Pinterest and I made this cake and I wanted to share with you… I made two round cakes (one for BUNCO and one for the family). I put crushed wafers in the bottom of the cake pans, then baked the cake, poked holes and poured on the pudding. About an hour before serving, I sliced banana on top of the cake, then covered with whipped topping, then the crushed wafers again. It was AWESOME!! The BUNCO girls ate it before the hostess served dinner! I served the other cake to the family on Saturday night… I have had 5 requests for the recipe! I gave them the link to your website! Thanks for sharing! Toni
Great Recipe, I forgot to add eggs to my cake mix and the cake was still moist. This was a huge hit for family dinner. Thanks for sharing
Can i use two boxes of cake mix for a higher cake, and still two boxes of pudding?
I feel like there's something missing from the directions. Two packages of pudding mix plus 4 cups of milk makes a very thin mixture. I stirred it, let it sit, stirred it some more, let it sit… It never thickened up. I thought "What the heck" and poured it in. It was like water and just went to the bottom of the pan (nothing like the picture). I refrigerated it for a while and added the whipped topping and cookies. When we ate it, it was almost like a rum cake, wet on the bottom. I had a friend tell me that the peppermint poke cake she made did the same thing. What are we missing?
My daughter made this yesterday to take to our friends' house for dinner. It was absolutely delicious!!
Anonymous-Are you sure you used instant pudding? It sounds to me like you used the cook & serve not instant. You are just making the pudding to the instant package directions which is 2 cups cold milk per packet. I hope that helps! -Brandie 🙂
Where can you buy the instant banana pudding mix? I made the coconut cream poke cake and oh, was it delicious! Melted right in your mouth; you couldn't just eat one piece of that cake..everybody asked for seconds. It was so light and yummy!
Thank you so much to y'all for taking the time to leave me a comment. I am so happy this has been such a good recipe for everyone. Betty – that is so great! I'm so happy the coconut cream poke cake was a success. I believe the Jell-O brand instant pudding is actually called Banana Cream. I can find it at my local Wal-Mart as well as Kroger. Hope that helps! ~Brandie
This is "anonymous from March 2nd" :-). I did you jello instant banana cream pudding. Your recipe says the boxes are 3.4 oz, but they only came in 3 oz, so I only used 3 cups of milk. It was still wayyyy to watery on the bottom. No one else is complaining, so I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. The flavor is awesome, and I'm not a huge banana fan, so I'm determined to figure out what I did wrong! Thanks everyone!
I made this for my dad's birthday on Saturday and it was delicious!! Making the Boston Cream this weekend. YUM!!!-Marcy Wiggins, Howe, Tx.
I made this Friday night and let it sit over night in the fridge (without adding the wafers or the cool whip) and it was simply AMAZING the next day! I added the whip in the morning,and just crumbled wafers and added them to the pieces I served. I went strictly by this recipe and had no issues whatsoever!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!
What size pan should be used? I used a 9X9 because the pan in the photo looked square, but it took too long for the cake to bake and then I had way too much pudding.
Hi Anonymous, the recipe says to use a 9×13 pan. The picture may be deceiving but it is a 9×13 baking dish just like it says in the recipe. Hope that helps! ~Brandie
I would like to challenge Heather to a banana pudding eating contest to prove once and for all who is the biggest fan. Can u make about 20 of these for the event? 😉
How would it taste if I added cut up pieces of strawberries and bananas on top of the cake?
i enjoyed looking at your country cook blog i am excited about trying some of your ideals they look really good
I saw this rotating through facebook and HAD to try it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE banana pudding! whenever my mother makes it my dad and I would literally fight over who got the first bite and last bite out of the dish so when I saw this recipe, yesterday, I HAD TO TRY IT! I just started on it today and i'm letting it refridgerate overnight to make sure my whipped topping is thawed out. omg i can't wait to try it in the morning, my mouth is watering!!
this got me to thinking, I made a cocacola cake on christmas, my sister said I didn't make enough icing.. Poke cocacola cake? and double the icing recipe to make sure there's enough? I think i just might try it!!
Shared this with my banana-pudding-loving husband and promised to make it for his 40th birthday in May. We will be celebrating that after 3 years and 75 pounds lost, that he will hit 40 in the best shape of his life. I think a special yummy treat is well deserved! Thanks for the recipe!
Wow! That is absolutely awesome! Congratulations and well-earned!! Hope he loves this!
Oh my Jesus! This looks like a piece of heaven! I should make one for my coworkers to take back after spring break! Now can I layer this cake to two layers?
Hope they love it! Might be a bit too heavy for two layers…
I made this last night and ate it for breakfast after letting it chill overnight. OMG it's heaven!!
Love hearing that Suzanne! Thank you for letting me know!
Brandie:
Making this for dessert today! Along with the Ten Can Soup recipe I just sent to you. Hope you will try some of my old time favorites. Have a super Sunday. So glad I found your blog! Ruth Ann
Another idea…use yellow cake mix, with vanilla pudding, cool whip, and crushed vanilla oreos ontop!! Yum
these recipes are just too much !!!! want to make them all!!! TY so much! xx
I made this last night… The store only had one box of the bigger size of instant banana cream, so i bought a french vanilla to mix with it and just poured the extra into ramekins to eat separately. I forgot to buy Nilla wafers, but I did buy this new cereal: Peanut Butter Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Put that top, it was amazing!
I just made this and one with cheesecakes pudding and fresh strawberries and gram crackers
Sounds delicious!
Thanks for the receipes. I love to bake!
What do you think about using French Vanilla cake instead of yellow? Also, what about adding sliced bananas on top of the cake, before you pour the pudding…wouldn't that seal out the air and keep them from turning? Hoping to hear back from everyone as I am making this tonight for Easter lunch tomorrow!! Just debating the whole banana situation 🙂
Yes, you could certainly use French Vanilla. Whatever you like. Unfortunately, the bananas may still brown. It all depends on how soon you eat this after making. Personally, I think this cake is best when you let it hang out in the fridge overnight.
This is copied verbatim on the Facebook page The Recipe Graveyard. No attribution. Thought you would like to know.
Thank you Ellen! Unfortunately that has been a BIG problem on facebook lately. I appreciate you letting me know!
I made this cake today and my 5 yr old daughter helped by crushing up the wafers for me and she put them on top.. I made it for tomorrow (Easter) but i had to try a little piece to see how it came out… It is really yummy thanks will be making this over and over… my kids love it too… Thanks for great and easy recipes.
Thank you so much!!!!! I saw this on facebook, and whenI read it I posted, "I'm making that for Easter"! So, the night before Easter I made this divine dessert and my husband couldn't help but have a little bit. We winded up eating that entire pan! I am making another one right now for guest tomorrow for Easter. I didn't have more banans pudding for the second one, so I'll have to use vanilla pudding and puree 2 bananas. I hope this one turns out just as delicious as the first! Thanks again!
Thank you for all these tasty and easy cake recipes. I think I will try all of them. All the best!
I made this yesterday. It wasn't what I expected. It was better! It was very light and a real crowd pleaser. I will certainly be making it again. I only found your site recently, but I am going to be a repeat visitor for sure. Thanks for all these great recipes!
I tried this yesterday and it was a big hit! I only found your site a few days ago, but I plan to visit it frequently. The recipes are simple and sound so delicious. Definitely a fan!
So glad I found your site!! I saw someone on facebook post this but couldn't find it but found your site through google and I think I'm in love! 🙂 I made this for Easter Sunday and my husband has made a long standing request for this cake for his birthday for the rest of his life lolol I can't wait to try more of your recipes out. Thank you thank you thank you!! 😀
This looks awesome! I can't wait to make it this Sunday. I'm going to sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top as well. We love chocolate covered bananas!! LOL 🙂
Another yumm yumm yummy recipe. It got great reviews from my coworkers! Gracias!
I have a "heavenly" sweet tooth 🙂 however, I am on weight watchers so I was thinking…can I substitute some of the ingredients for light ,sugar free or fat free? Will it make a difference or mess it up? Has anyone tried to make it like this? Thanks
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I was just going to share the same thing Rosanne shared because your recipe AND picture showed up on my feed from a relative who shared it. I already let my relative know it is a lifted photo and recipe.
Absolutely good
My mother made this on Easter at the request of my niece. I'm not a big fan of packaged banana pudding, but this was excellent. After looking up the recipe, I was led to your site, and discovered, that this was the exact recipe that she used. I then found all the other wonderful flavors of poke cakes on your site. This inspired me to try my own combination of flavors. My favorite so far is Strawberry Lemonade, with strawberry cake and lemon pudding, with extra lemon juice of course.
I like experimenting with these "poke" cakes. They are a good way to offer variety in desert without a lot of work. A suggestion I might make would be to substitute milk for the water and melted butter for the oil in the cake mix. This makes a very rich and moist cake. Also, mixing another box of pudding with 1/2 the stated milk and folding in a tub of whipped cream after it has begun to set will carry the flavor theme to the top.
I made this last night with my three year old. It was simple enough for us to do together and turned out amazing! I even took a plate of it so my parents this morning after refrigerating overnight and they said it was amazing as well! This is my new go to recipe! There is none left!
Thank you for this great idea!!! I tried it today and while it was good I think that the pudding didn't REALLY get into the cake. I think the next time I make this I might add a bit more milk so it is just a bit more liquidy……wait is liquidy a word??? Well you know what I mean! 😉 thanks for the nummy treat!
I just made this recipe for my family tonight. DELISH!!! We all loved it. Can't wait to enjoy more tomorrow. Your website is awesome! I am definitely incorporating some of your recipes into our monthly menu. Thank you so much!! 🙂
Oh my behalf how ever small it may be. Your blog and recipes are one of the best around and recipes even for a beginner cook such as myself is easy to follow and i am greatful you share them. So thank you
I just made this and almost slapped my momma!!! It was that doggone good!!
Have to say – this was made last night for work today. AMAZING! Everyone loved it. I'm in the low desert in CA and it gets HOT, so this is a refreshing cake, just like the pina colada cake (which as also a hit!)
Thanks so much!
Wow, I cannot wait to try this! This looks like something my Dad would love, probably going to make this for father's day.
I Love this recipe idea! My husband loves banana pudding but I can't stand it, something about mushy brown bananas & soggy cookies just turns my stomach! But this recipe will be a perfect mix for us because I love cake & whip cream! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, I made it last night & its currently sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be dessert tonight!! Can't Wait!!
Thanks for the recipe. It is in my frig setting up for tomorrow's fathers day BBQ. I don't think I can wait though, I will have try a piece tonight 😉
How long should I leave it in the fridge before adding the cool whip?
I tried making this 2 hours before I left the house. Silly me didn't realize cool whip has to thaw for 5 hours! Against all warnings, I stirred the cool whip to make it smooth and immediately put it on the cake. I also did 2 9in round pans because I needed desserts for two different places today. It kind of mixed with the pudding, so I'm hoping it will settle in the fridge before we eat it. It looks not so great, but its the taste that counts, right?
Making this for fathers day! There is also a butterfinger poke cake! mmmm
I am adding Sweet milk to my pudding mix, guna be sooo yummi
im going to try this cake and see how my co-workers like it. Thanks for this recipe 🙂
Followed the recipe the cake wasn't perfect but, it tasted GREaTTT!!! My family loved it. Great recipe, very easy.
I'm in the process of making this cake right now. I love the idea of it, but I'm changing a few things! I love the real bananas, so to make it like taste like the banana pudding I'm used to I'm using yellow cake, vanilla pudding, a layer of sliced bananas and then the cool whip layer and then the vanilla wafer layer. Thank you so much for the idea! I really hope this turns out as well as it looks.
I just baked this yesterday for dessert and it is so easy and so good. My husband isn't much of a cake person but he had two plates of this one!
I came across this recipe and knew I had to make it for the 4th of July party I go to. So I will let you know how it comes out and the response I recieve. Looks so tasty!
Do you think it could be made in two square pans and frozen? Sweet Tooth but there are only two of us.
Can't wait to try my version! I just used Key Lime cake mix, vanilla pudding and the cool whip and wafer topping. I'm having a hard time waiting for it to cool, lol! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
* I could give your friend Heather a good fight for the title of "number one banana pudding (anything banana) lover"……just saying!
I made this last night to follow the act that is the Meatball Sub Casserole. The casserole was so great, we ate too much of it so I haven't actually tasted the cake yet. Don't worry… I'll be tearing into it in just a few minutes. (All of this stuff is extremely detrimental to my quest of getting into my wedding dress, by the way! But everything is just so doggone GOOD!)
Now, I made a couple of changes, & I hope that it still turned out ok. I love banana pudding just as much as the next Alabama girl, but I absolutely DETEST banana-flavored stuff (love bananas, but hate banana-flavored stuff — it never tastes like banana to me — go figure). I used vanilla pudding instead, & I actually poured it into each hole before covering the entire cake. After the pudding was set, I put a layer of vanilla wafers, & then a layer of bananas on top of that, & then covered w/the Cool Whip. We'll see pretty soon if it's still yummy, & I'll post a reply later.
Yummy is sooooo NOT the word for how this turned out… I don't think the right word exists for it. It was totally scrumptious!!! And it really tasted like banana pudding! So, when I cut the first piece, it completely fell apart when I tried to lift it out of the pan. It didn't matter. The second piece came out just fine. My hubby-to-be was a little skeptical about it at first, but I let him taste some of that crumbled up piece & he loved it. I cut him a piece (completely intact), & when he got it he smashed it up before eating it! WONDERFUL recipe!!!
This was so yummy! My family is from the dad's side of the family is from the south and we all grew up on Banana pudding. I made this for a family dinner and it was a huge hit! The only think I did wrong was I let the pudding set a little too long so it didn't get all the way down the cake (toddler distracted me), but it was still sooooo good!
This was very good. I made this cake Friday and there's only about three slices left. And nobody has eaten with the banana slices.. Will definitely make again…. Thanks!
I love this cake!
I follow the directions EXCEPT I don't put the whipped cream on it until I'm ready to serve it. I don't like 'runny' whipped cream. (Of course the first time I made this it didn't last long enough to get runny!
I'm thinking about trying stabilized whipped cream on the one I'm going to make today and see how that works out for me.
This sounds like it would be great with Lemon Pudding and lemon sugar cookies as the crunch topping. You know those ones that are sold near the vanilla wafers with the frosting on them.
Absolutely! So many combinations!!
OMG, that sounds AWESOME. I'm a lemon fanatic, so I'm totally gonna try it. Going to buy some lemon pudding, cookies, & cake mix right after work!
Thank you for wonderful blog
I accidentally bought cook n' serve instead of instant… Can I use it or no?
You really need the instant for this. The problem with the cook n'serve is you would have to pour it in while warm (because it gets too thick as it cools) and it would just really break down the cake. So with the instant, you can still pour it and it is cool so it won't break down the cake at all. Sorry!
If you haven't tried yet, I have, & it turned out great!!! Once your custard is ready let it cool some so that it thickens up a little, & make sure that your cake is COMPLETELY COOLED before you start pouring the pudding. Happy cooking!
Don’t let your cake cool as it won’t absorb the pudding and it will just sit on top.
NO.
cant wait to try this with a gluten free cake mix. My husband loves banana pudding but ever since I was diagnosed with Celiac, he only get it if we go out to eat. I make a gf cookie that is very similar to nilla wafers, going to go get the ingredients for this and surprise the hubby
Okay I am commenting on this after I have made this cake numerous times. It is now requested for every family birthday and special occasion! I asked my niece what she wanted for her birthday and she requested this cake! I do a couple of things different. I use 2 large boxes of banana pudding and add 1 cup more milk than it calls for otherwise the pudding is too thick for my tast. I use almost all of the pudding and have extra to eat while making the cake…yum! We like our cake with extra pudding! It's so good and you don't even need ice cream. After the pudding is poured in the holes I put the cake in the fridge over night and then right before the party I layer sliced bananas on top of the pudding and then layer with extra cool whip (don't go generic on the cool whip; it gets runny and don't forget to defrost the cool whip the night before) and then I add the crunched up nilla wafers (I have used generic wafers from the dollar store and it turned out fine) I never leave reviews but I felt so compelled because of how much I love this cake!!!! Mmmmm
I found this site just the other day. I was looking for a recipe for a cake for a church fellowship. I found so much more than just a cake recipe. Everything on this site looks so yummy and I am just making plans for how to fit in every recipe that I have looked at so far. Last night I made the banana pudding poke cake and this morning when I woke up, its almost gone! Thanks so much for having such a wonderful site.
I saved this for my mom who is a banana pudding fiend. She makes a poke cake that is out of this world. It's a Butterfinger cake. It's white cake mix with caramel syrup mixed with sweetened condensed milk poured through it and the topping is a mix of cream cheese and whipped cream with five king sized Butterfingers crushed up over the top. This has been my expected birthday cake every year since the one she made. I can get the official recipe if anyone is interested. I'll try to remember to check back.
I have vanilla and banana cream could I mix those two?
I made this for my family and my 14 year old nephew ate his before his mom could even get hers' out of the pan, and he sais OMG this is the best think I ever ate and hit the counter with his fist and said "Hit me again". Needless to say the whole family was laughing till it hurt.
This cake is also good with nuts and caramel topping (instead of Graham Crackers)!!!!
This reminds me of my Mom's Lemon Lime Refrigerator sheet cake in the 70's. Poke holes in lemon cake and add lime jello. Everyone always loved it!
You can make a lemon poke cake the same way. Use lemon jello instant pudding instead of banana. It is delicious.
love this
I'm making this recipe BUT with a SPICE cake and the new Pumpkin Jello Pudding! I adore all things pumpkin! Putting crushed graham crackers on top. I'm shivering with excitement!
Thanks for the inspiration,
Dawn in Chicagoland
The pumpkin spice poke cake with caramel and hot fudge is delicious too. I love poke cakes
*cries out in desperation*
WHY oh WHY don't they sell all those great cake mixes in our supermarkets????!!!!
Linda – Holland
I have used a can of crème de coconut.. and did the same with the poke cake.. Left in the frig all night. Put the whipped cream on top before serving and sprinkle with coconut.. TO DIE FOR!!!
As I'm typing this , I'm making a sugar free strawberry cheesecake version with cheesecake pudding & a cream cheese topping. My first time making this version, so hoping it turns out as yummy as I think it will.
I use the cooked pudding as it's easier to pour into the holes. Sliced my bananas and put them on top of the pudding then topped with the cool whip and crushed vanilla wafers. It was a big hit at work.
I have a weird question. I have a family member who doesn't like whipped topping, but loves banana pudding. This sounds like an awesome cake to make for his birthday. What kind of modifications could I make to this… anything besides just leaving off the whipped topping and putting the nilla wafers on top of the pudding layer? And I wonder how that would taste anyway?
I'm going to experiment with maybe a pineapple cake or strawberry, or maybe add strawberry and drained crushed pineapple and chocolate syrup on top to make this a banana split poke cake. Any other suggestions?
Try this….chocolate cake,pistachio pudding and the Cool Whip…garnish with chocolate slivers!
This is a lovely cake. I enjoyed it and so did everyone else. Thank you! Love your recipes!!!
Jeez I'm so loving this poke cake thing. Is their such a thing as "poke cupcakes"? I'm so making these soon.
I tried this recipe for Easter. I used a white cake mix instead of a yellow one. However, I kinda messed it up. I let the cake cool almost completely before I poured the pudding onto the cake. When you mess up this bad, you don't need 2 boxes of instant pudding, 1 would be just fine. I wiped off what didn't soak into the cake after about 15 minutes. I added the whipped cream and the Nilla Wafers. Everyone said it was absolutely delicious. They want me to make it for all future family events. It was the biggest hit. Everyone including myself thought it tasted just like banana pudding. Yum, Yum, Yum. I will try even more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing
This looks so easy to make!gonna try it for my co-workers!i remember my elderly neighbor making home scratch banana pudding for my husband when he would cut her lawn,trim her bushes,plumbing.Whatever she needed,he did and she always baked him something good..since my husband would not take her money,she paid him with desserts.
I am going to try this but I am going to use a couple of real ripe bananas and mash with my potato masher and blend in with the cake mix as tho I was making a cake from scratch I think this will really give it that bananas flavor and the they wont turn brown, What do you think ?
I use McDonald straws,Just want to let you know McDonalds has the best straws for this.I used to make poke cakes all the time. I going to give this one a try. thanks
Add mini choco chips to the top! Yum!!!
Use a MCDonalds straw they are the best for poke cakes. I would added crushed walnuts to this and it made it even better!
I just made this and it turned out awesome! However, when I poked the holes in the cake it mine didn't come out pretty like the picture, the cake got crumbly. It turned out fine after I covered in in pudding and cool whip but do you have any advice on this? I'm thinking I may have over baked the cake by a few minutes. Thanks 🙂
I made this today. HOLY COW!! Everyone raved. It was absolutely delicious. I made the following modifications: used banana cream pudding, waited to add the whipped topping until right before serving, and added fresh slices of banana on top. I cannot wait to make this again!
love tis cake. I added sliced bananas on top of the pudding then the whip cream. SOOOO good.
Great recipe. I tried it out and turned out great. Thanks for sharing. I shared it on my blog and posted your pin
9/8/14 Made this tonight .Omg! My 5 year old niece wouldn't stop wanting more.Definitely better after sitting in the fridge for awhile. So easy cheap & so good.I also made your chili tonight.Which my husband & son swears it's better than Wendy's 🙂 lol I agree.Thank you for the wonderful affordable recipes.Keep them coming!
Girlfriends from high school (36yrs ago) coming for dinner this will be our dessert. Will like I did a lot of work but actually pretty easy. Love your recipes.
My girlfriend found this recipe a couple days ago. I am making it right now only instead of using cool whip, I like to use dream whip. The texture and flavor to me is just all around better. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this amazing creation. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Just wanted to add something. That I do I use banana caked mik. It is delicious. I have kept my cakes for at least
Two weeks in the fridge and it is even better the longer you keep it.
My aunt passed away a year ago and she was always the one to make banana pudding at family functions. I saw your recipe and took it last Thanksgiving and now that is my thing to bring because my family said it was really close and they loved it
This sure was a big hit at our house,truely enjoy your recipes.Made this for my son-in-laws birthday,i'm sure l scored brownie points
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cake. I made it for the first time on Thanksgiving and have made 6 since then. I substitute 1/2c half and half and 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream for one of the cups a milk OMGOODNESS!! My son loves this cake It's a staple for my family now. Thanks for sharing
I have a quick question..can I use the canned land o lakes whipped topping instead of the cool whip? You know the one that we spray onto desserts.
Not sure if that would work the same. I'm excited to try this recipe!
I made this last week for my husband before I went out of town. I froze it in individual slices so he could have a piece each day. It worked beautifully. I didn't have instant pudding (our store didn't have it)So I used 3.5 cups of milk with 2 boxes of mix. I let it cool slightly before spooning it over the cooled cake. Worked fine. I put on the whipped topping and let it chill in the fridge for awhile then sliced it up for the freezer. Yummy– every single slice!
My husband and I will be married 50 years in July and you and your recipes are the one woman he would leave me for. As long as he takes me too, I am OK with that . We both are enjoying the results of your recipes. Thanks
This sounds like a great recipe and could easily be made diabetic by using sugar free cake mix, pudding and wafers.
Wow! I never thought about wafers and banana! Will be trying this today as our dessert for Sunday dinner.
made this cake last night – very easy and a sweet treat indeed. Thanks for sharing.
This recipe looks yummy. I would do a little something different, though. I don't like anything banana flavored. So I would use vanilla pudding & place sliced bananas directly on top of the pudding. Then I would finish using the rest of the directions. I'm anxious to try this.
HI…We don't have Cool Whip where I am..Is whipped cream the same?? Look forward to hearing back from you. I really would like to try this recipe.
Thank you for such a fun and amazingly yummy recipe!
I have made this so many times since you first shared it. Always a hit!
I have made this two times already, and I am making this right now to take to my moms for thanksgiving. Everyone loves it, but I go a step further and add banana slices on top of the pudding. Its just like eating the real thing, but the cake part just makes it awesome!
Has anyone tried cook and serve pudding in place of the instant? I was thinking about trying it to see if the warmth of cooking the pudding would create an even more moist cake and fill the poke holes better before refrigerating to cool. ….?any thoughts?
Great changes Edward!
Made this and it was delicious! Made a couple alterations. Replced the oil in the cake with naners and used banana milk in the pudding. YUM!
The stuff dreams are made of! Nanner puddin is one of my favorites and I can't wait to make this one. You know I love a good poke cake!
I'm making one now. I'm going to make it with pistachio pudding cause I don't have vanilla. Will let you know how it comes out. Thank you.
I just made one with pistachio pudding. Going to put fresh whip cream on top later and have a piece. Will let you know how it taste.
Thank you so much for the website.
Love the different spin on it, hope it turned out delicious!
My boyfriend loves this cake!
I add a box of banana pudding mix to the cake batter. I then make a batch of pudding to pour in the holes.
I sometimes add the ban as between the pudding and cool whip, they stay put for two days!
Great recipe!
It is certainly a winner no matter how you make it! Glad you and your boyfriend love it.
Can all of these ingredients be substituted for sugar free? Im looking for a sugar free poke cake recipe. This one seems perfect and I’d imagine it would all work the same, yes?
Hi Brittney! I don’t see why not! 🙂
I want to make 100 mini servings of this recipe. My plan is to make the mini cakes, freeze them, layering the pudding and whipped cream one day prior to serving. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the cakes from being to dry since I am not pouring the pudding over warm cake?
Thanks for recipe ???? some good stuff ????
Thanks so much Chris!!
This cake is simply amazing. So easy!! I’m addicted to anything banana and this is one of the recipes I can make over and over again and love each and every time.
Hi Brandie! I absolutely love your poke cakes! They are always a hit, and the banana one is perfect for summer get-together. I am a butterscotch fan, and I was wondering if you have a recipe for that flavor. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Hi Stacy! Oh wow – thank you so much!! Ya know, I don’t have a butterscotch one – YET! I’ll have to play with that one. Great idea!
Great!! I’m sure you’ll come up with something delicious! Would be a good fall recipe! Thanks!! ????
Can you use cook and serve pudding? Thank you !!!
I love your recipes, but every time I try to print one off, the recipe is blocked out in parts by advertisements. very frustrating!
OMG this is so YUMMY!! My Hubby & I loved this banana pudding poke cake!! The best….:) Thanks for all your recipes;love your website. 🙂
Yes! Love hearing that Tess! I really appreciate you coming back to let me know how it turned out for you!!
I made this for my 81-year-old Dad and he loved it! His wife passed away10 years ago and he loved her banana pudding. He said this was even better because it was a cake too! Like others, I added a layer of bananas on top of the pudding before the Cool Whip layer,otherwise followed the recipe. I love making several types of poke cakes and will definitely make this one again.
OMG!!!! Delicious. So quick and easy. I am going to make this again and again.
Yay! That is so awesome to hear. Thank you Gail!
This recipe is a keeper! I made a few tweaks – added a layer of fresh bananas on top of the pudding layer and I did homemade whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. It was a hit!
Love it! Thanks so much for coming back to comment Jill!
Can you substitute the whipped creme with anything if you’re not really a whipped creme lover? ????
Mandora – hmmmm….I am not sure. Is there a substitute that you’ve used in the past? Perhaps you could make a meringue topping?
I love this! I’m using this site from now on. the visuals are so beneficial for me. i hope i dont lose you.
I am so happy you find it all helpful Patty! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!!
can u make this cake the night before
Yes! In fact, I think it tastes better when you make it the night before 🙂
Thank u very much loved the cake
So happy to hear that Dorothy!!
I’m in uk, love the idea of this but what is the instant banana pudding ? Is there a uk alternative?
Hi Linda – hmmmm…I’m not sure. Do you have a quick-setting custard? You could add the banana flavoring to that.
What’s the best type of milk for the pudding mix?
Best banana pudding I have ever had!!!!!
Just got done making this and it’s amazing thank you so much for the recipe
Thank you so very much Emily!!
Best cake ever, and easy to make!
Yay!! Thank you so much Mary Ann!!
I was wanting to make banana pudding for an Easter dessert, but didn’t have any Nilla Wafers, so I decided I would look for a recipe that used a cake mix instead and I found your poke cake recipe. It was absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it and requested that I make it again! To make it even more like southern banana pudding, I poured a can of sweetened condensed milk in the holes first, then poured in the pudding. It was fantastic! Thanks for a great recipe!
Looks so yummy. I love Bananas so I will enjoy this when I bake it. My Sister will love it too especially when I bake it and she receives a few pieces to enjoy.
I put a layer of sliced bananas on top of the pudding layer before I add the whipped cream and crushed Vanilla Wafers. That way the bananas don’t turn brown. Awesome recipe. Thank you!
I was just wondering what about using reddi whip in the can or homemade whipped cream instead of cool whip..My family doesn’t like it. Thanks
I would use homemade whipped cream over Reddi Whip. Reddi Whip isn’t stable enough to last more than an hour. With the homemade whipped cream, you’ll have to eat this within a day because homemade whipped cream isn’t as stable as Cool Whip. This cake actually gets better the longer it sits so just keep that in mind.
You think you can do this with a chocolate devils food cake?!?