Recipes

Banana Pudding Cake

Written by zakrezki1
Banana pudding is the perfect dessert. The combination of creamy pudding, soft Nilla Wafers, and fluffy whipped cream creates the ultimate
combination of textures and flavors that simply can’t be beat. It’s a beloved Southern dessert with an army of devoted fans — and for good reason!

This cake is everything I love about the quintessential Southern dessert, reimagined into a simple layer cake fit for a celebration. The moist layers of banana cake are layered with crushed Nilla Wafers and sliced banana, and it all gets coated in a light whipped cream frosting. While it certainly looks impressive, it’s actually incredibly easy to make. It comes together within an hour and stays moist for several days, thanks to a few clever ingredients.

YIELD Serves 8 to 10

PREP TIME 15 minutes

COOK TIME 20 minutes to 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS :

  • 1box vanilla cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box1
  • (3.4 oz) box vanilla pudding mix2 c.
  • cold milk1/2 c.
  • Cool Whip1 1/2 c.
  • butter, softened5 c.
  • powdered sugar2 tsp.
  • pure vanilla extract
  • Pinch of kosher salt 1/4 c.
  • plus 2 tbsp. heavy cream2
  • bananas, sliced1 c.
  • crushed Nilla Wafers

 DIRECTIONS:

  1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°. Line two round 9″ cake pans with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. Prepare cake mix according to package instructions. Divide batter between cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in pans then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
  2. Make pudding: In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and milk and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Fold in Cool Whip.
  3. Make buttercream frosting: In a large bowl using a hand mixer, combine butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Add remaining sugar and heavy cream and beat until smooth.
  4. Assemble cake: Using a serrated knife, cut off the rounded top of each cake to level. Top one cake with a layer of pudding then top with most of the banana slices (reserve some for garnish). Place second cake on top and frost entire cake with buttercream, reserving about 1 cup to pipe on top. Press crushed Nilla wafers around the sides of the cake.
  5. Transfer remaining buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe large swirls around the top of the cake. Decorate with Nilla wafers and more banana slices.

About the author

zakrezki1