No-Bake Twinkie Cake
Twinkie Cake is a no-bake dessert that is a cross between a banana split and a shortcake. Layers of Twinkies, bananas, pudding and Cool Whip!
A Fun No-Bake Dessert Recipe
No, it’s not a cake that tastes like a Twinkie. It’s a cake made out of Twinkies! Yes, it sounds perfectly sinful. And it is. But it’s kinda healthy, it’s got pineapple and bananas in it and it even has cherries too. That’s healthy, right? And better yet, no baking involved!
Can I Substitute Something Else For The Twinkies?
You can also use sliced pound cake or sponge cake for the bottom layer. So if baking isn’t really your thing and you need a sweet potluck dish, then this one is for you. And it is always fun to see people’s reaction when you tell them it is made from Twinkies. People are surprised at first then they are in love!
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
How To Make No Bake Twinkie Cake
Remove Twinkies from the wrappers. You’ll use about 7 Twinkies. Although, I think I’ve made this a few times before where I ended up using 8. Must’ve been the way I sliced them. Place sliced Twinkies in a 9×13 pan, cream side up
Next, layer sliced bananas on top of Twinkies.
Spread the crushed pineapples on top of the bananas.
In a separate bowl, combine instant pudding mix with 2 cups of cold milk. Whisk it together until combined and allow it to thicken slightly. It should take 3-5 minutes. You want it just a bit thickened, but still pourable. Pour pudding over crushed pineapple. Spread it out so it is evenly coated.
Next, spread the whipped topping over the pudding layer. Drain a few maraschino cherries on a paper towel.
Sprinkle chopped nuts on top of cake. Then place a few cherries on top.
Cover and store cake in the fridge. Let it set for about an hour before serving.
Craving More Recipes?
No Bake Twinkie Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box Twinkies
- 4 bananas, peeled and sliced
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
- 3 ounce box INSTANT vanilla pudding
- 2 cups cold milk
- 8 ounce tub whipped topping, thawed
- chopped nuts (for topping)
- maraschino cherries (for topping)
Instructions
- Remove Twinkies from the wrappers. You'll use about 7 Twinkies. Slice them in half.
- Place sliced Twinkies in a 9×13-inch pan, cream side up.
- Next, layer 4 bananas, peeled and sliced on top of Twinkies.
- Spread 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well on top of the bananas.
- In a separate bowl, combine 3 ounce box INSTANT vanilla pudding with 2 cups cold milk.
- Whisk it together until combined and allow it to thicken slightly. It should take 3-5 minutes. It should be thickened but pourable.
- Pour pudding over crushed pineapple. Spread out until evenly coated.
- Next, spread 8 ounce tub whipped topping, thawed over the pudding layer.
- Sprinkle chopped nuts on top of cake.
- Drain a few maraschino cherries on a paper towel. Then, place a few cherries on top.
- Cover and store cake in the fridge. Let it set for about an hour before serving.
Video
Notes
- Instead of Twinkies, you can always use sliced pound cake or sponge cake for the bottom layer.
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.
Originally published: December 2011
Updated photos & republished: July 2019
Sounds good.
Is delicious and fun to make with the kids
This recipe was delicious – and so easy to make. I cut down some on the bananas,( i used two bananas instead of four), and sprinkled crushed Graham crackers on top instead of nuts. will make this again someday for sure. Thanks for posting this recipe !
This Twinkie Cake did NOT get soggy and it only stayed 3 days in my fridge as my husband and 2 sons loved it especially cold!
Thank you so much for coming back to comment Olivia!! I love hearing that!!
can this be made ahead..like even the day before,or will it get soggy?
This is GREAT ! this will take the place of my overly intensive Banana Split Cake that i am getting too old to do. LOVE THIS!!!! Thank you, Brandie!
Yay!! Love hearing that Olivia! I love dessert but I need them to be easy since I am not the most accomplished baker. Ha!
I’ve made this cake for years…the only difference is I bake a yellow cake in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan instead of using Twinkies.
Sounds good to me!
I made this for my ladies bible study group. Everyone loved it. So easy to make. Requests to have it again tomorrow.
Woo hoo!! So wonderful Karen! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
I am going to use lady fingers.Yummy ???? can’t wait to try.
I love this recipe. It’s strange, because when my daugh Was born in 1995, I received an auxiliary book from the hospital with recipes in it, and there where two that’s popular as of late: strawberry soda pop cake (poke cake), and Twinkie pie. I am assuming that most of these recipes are old and have been passed around apparently. But great, nonetheless.
I used strawberries and fresh cut pineapple❗
Sorry I haven’t read all of the comments above. However, I have tried the Twinkie cake with strawberries instead of bananas and pineapple. I also used two puddings as my pan was somewhat bigger. On top I used Cool Whip and the cherries. The strawberries had been freshly cut and frozen. I also used a half a cup of sugar to sweeten them before freezing. They were Juicy and fresh looking.
My mom used to make this and somewhere in the steps she would pour a mix of strawberry jello over holes that she had poked into the Twinkies. Continue to layer it with banana’s or strawberries and whip cream with nuts my mouth is waterjng just talkinv about it. So many variations. I think she even used pistachio pudding once. Sooo good!
When I made it, after cutting Twinkies in half I cut them in half again so they were about two inches long and placed them in the pan. It made it so much easier to serve
I’m going to try this with Banana flavored Twinkies. This recipe reminds me of Banana split torte. It sounds so good! Have to try this!!
Ooooh – that’s a good idea! I love how they’ve brought back that original flavor! Let me know how it turns out for you!
Making it for a bbq tomorrow! How far in advance do you think I can make this?
Gotta say I made this but I can't tell you how it tastes. Had to go deal with an emergency situation came bake and there was not even a crumb. I suppose my family liked it. I will make 2 next time and hide one.1
Making this for our 4th ofJuly barbeque. Actually it's so easy the kids will be making.
I'll try to make it I don't know if the twinkles will make it. …. They're a dessert all on their own!!! Yummy.!!!!
I think I will be making this for a pot luck picnic on Thursday! Thanks for the idea…
I think I will be trying this later this week for a picnic with Dave's new office.
You can actually find lots of other Twinkie versions out there now. Tastycake came out with their own Twinkie version recently and I think it tastes very good! Also, most stores have their versions of a Twinkie as well so there are lots of options for this still 🙂
Well what'll we do now that they no longer make twinkie's???? LOL
I'm so sad. Now I have to figure out how to make my own twinkies!
This looks great! I think I will try it with coconut instead of the pineapple with chocolate sprinkles on top. Also, one with chocolate pudding and mandarin oranges, YUM!
I just wanted to thank you for this wonderful recipe, I made it and took it to a bbq last night and it was a big hit, even my husband who wanted me to make something different because he said he didn't like Twinkies loved it. I love your page its great thanks again.
I made the twinkie cake for our Easter Dessert. BIG hit! Everyone loved it. Easy too! Thanks
ur recipe looks like an easier version of my EX sister in law's "banana split cake"
BTW i was thinking if u sliced ur bananas leanthwise,the cake would hold together better & i bet it would be loads easier 2 spread the pineapples. im always thinking,lol.
btw i love,love,love ur blog,brandie!
I have done this cake a couple times and taken to work. Now I am retired and there is just hubby and me at home I miss doing it. It was just so good.
I just may have to halve the recipe and make us one.
Karan
I made this for our small group potluck after church this weekend. It is so simple and pretty. I used a large box of instant pudding instead of the small one. Also added some chocolate sprinkles to the top with the nuts and cherries. Beautiful!
Taylor, thank you so much for coming back to tell me how it turned out for you. Such a clever idea to split it up into to baking dishes. Love that!!
I made this cake last weekend and it was a huge hit with everyone. I needed to make smaller desserts so I split the cake into two 8×8 pans one to take to my sons and the other stayed home for dinner with family.
Thanks for sharing
Taylor
Aina, you could use double cream. Just as if you are making whipped cream. Here in America, we use one cup (225 grams) of heavy whipping cream (similar to double cream) and whip it until thick. Be careful not to overwhip though. Double cream has more fat than our heavy whipping cream so it may turn into butter quicker. As it starts to thicken add in about 1/4 cup (56 grams) of powdered sugar (or icing sugar) to sweeten the whipped cream. I hope that helps!
whts the substitute of cool whip? can i use double cream/single cream n whisk it up. will it give the same result?
wow..looks irresistably hearty n divine..
thanks for sharing ..:)
Tasty Appetite
YOWZA! What a simple, creative and delicious idea! Gotta be healthy for sure! Thanks much for sharing…I need to go wipe the drool off my face now.
Once I saw this on Twitter I couldn't help myself; I had to see the recipe. Now, you know I shouldn't be eating something like this, so I won't say I'm going to try this one out, but I wish I could! I used to love Twinkies. So. Much. Trouble. Thanks for making me drool. 😉
Perfect for when you are short on time and, and patience!
MMM I just love twinkies! What a fantastic idea. Thank you 🙂
All I can say is WOW! What a winning combination!
Can't wait to try this.
This cake looks delicious! So creative too!
Who new that you could make a dessert out of Twinkies? Amazing. and it looks so good.
Szuper ez a blog,sok sok finom recept,bármikor szívesen lennék vendég az asztalodnál!!!!
Oh my – this cake is a cracker! My kids would LOVE this – heck I would love it. Thanks for posting this. I am definitely gonna try it and I am not averse to Twinkies at all!
Brandie, in my wildest dreams I'd have never thought of this and once again you challenge me to think out of the box! The succession of photos clearly depicts the yummy flavor profiles…and from my 'by scratch' vantage point, I'd jump off of Santa's nice list to the naughty list to try this recipe. Brava!
I have to admit – I am suspicious. I grew up in Germany, without twinkies and the like, and I to this day haven't dared try one. The consistency kind of freaks me out, haha. Interesting application, for sure though! It looks very pretty!
My mom makes this, I forgot all about it. Yummy!
What a fun cake! Never would have turned Twinkies into another cake – yum!
If you're hesitant about Twinkies, you can always use sliced pound cake! 🙂
Wow! This one is oh so wrong but yet oh so right.