Punch Bowl Cake
Punch Bowl Cake is an impressively simple layered dessert made with pieces of yellow cake, vanilla pudding, pineapple, strawberries and bananas!
A DELICIOUS & BEAUTIFUL CAKE RECIPE
This Punch Bowl Cake really is the best dessert to make for a party. It’s pretty to look at with the pops of red and yellow and it tastes phenomenal! If I need an easy dessert but I still want it to look like I put a lot of effort in – then the punch bowl cake is the way to go! The yellow cake pieces with creamy vanilla pudding, mixed fruit flavors and the creamy whipped topping really make this unique cake something to remember. I love how it’s easy to make and is a fun centerpiece at every gathering we serve it!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Don’t let the cake bowl stop you from making this cake. Instead, try using a 9×13-inch baking dish. You may have to press down the layers a bit to get it all to fit, but it would still be delicious.
Yes, this can be made with chocolate cake, white cake, or even strawberry cake mix.
Sure thing. This would be tasty with French Vanilla pudding, pineapple pudding or banana pudding.
Coat your bananas with a little bit of orange, lemon, or lime juice to keep them from turning brown too quickly.
This can be stored up to 3 days in the fridge, however the fruit will soften and brown, but it still tastes good. For the best presentation, I’d recommend making this, at max, the night before to help try to preserve the fruit as long as possible.
Leftovers can be covered and should be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. They’ll change in color, but will still be edible. I do not recommend freezing this dessert.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- yellow cake mix– you can use your favorite boxed mix, or make a Homemade Yellow Cake recipe. You could also use store-bought pound cake or even angle food cake for this dessert to make it faster to prepare.
- ingredients needed to make the cake – eggs, oil and water (use the amounts on the back of the box.)
- instant vanilla pudding mix – be sure to grab the instant mix, not the Cook-n-Serve.
- whole milk – try to keep it to whole milk here, don’t skimp out on the fat
- strawberries – stems removed and sliced, plus more for garnish.
- crushed pineapple – be sure to drain it really well.
- bananas – thinly sliced, plus more for garnish. If you are worried about bananas turning brown before serving, you can leave them out or sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice, orange juice or citric acid. This will slightly change the flavor though so keep that in mind.
- whipped topping – store brand or Cool Whip brand – whichever you prefer. You can also make homemade whipped cream as well.
HOW TO MAKE PUNCH BOWL CAKE
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with baking spray, set aside. Follow the directions on the back of the box to make the cake. Place it on a wire rack to cool completely. While the cake is cooling, make the pudding. Place the pudding mix into a large bowl and add the cold milk. Whisk by hand for 2 minutes until it thickens. Place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes or until ready to assemble the cake.
Once the cake is cool, cut it into 1-2 inch pieces. Place half of the cake cubes into the bottom of a standard-sized trifle bowl. Top with half of the pudding.
Add the sliced strawberries. Add the drained crushed pineapple.
Add the remaining cake cubes. Add the remaining pudding.
Top with the sliced bananas. Finish off everything with the whipped topping.
Serve immediately or chill until serving.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Punch Bowl Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- ingredients needed to make the cake: eggs, oil and water (use the amounts on the back of the box)
- 2 (3.4 ounce) boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 pound strawberries, stems removed and sliced (plus more for garnish)
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
- 4 bananas, thinly sliced (plus more for garnish)
- 8 ounce tub whipped topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray, set aside.
- Follow the directions on the back of the box to make the cake. Place it on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the pudding. Place the pudding mix into a large bowl and add the cold milk. Whisk by hand for 2 minutes until it thickens. Place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes or until ready to assemble the cake.
- Once the cake is cool, cut it into 1-2 inch pieces.
- Place half of the cake cubes into the bottom of a standard-sized trifle bowl.
- Top with half of the pudding.
- Add the sliced strawberries.
- Add the drained crushed pineapple.
- Add the remaining cake cubes.
- Add the remaining pudding.
- Top with the sliced bananas.
- Finish off everything with the whipped topping.
- Serve immediately or chill until serving.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I have someone who is allergic to pineapple. What fruit would be a good substitute for the pineapple?
You can just leave it out. You don’t need to substitute with anything unless there is a specific fruit you know they would enjoy – like sliced kiwi or something like that. 🙂
Very delicious. it tastes as amazing as it looks.