Banana Pudding Poke Cake
This Banana Pudding Poke Cake is made without slices of bananas but 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 the side.
This Banana Pudding Poke Cake is made without slices of bananas but 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 the side.
- Carbohydrate 437.016000036681 g
- Cholesterol 106.080000081154 mg
- Fat 89.6640000263749 g
- Fiber 5.54400012016296 g
- Protein 53.0880000261315 g
- Saturated Fat 26.6635200151352 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (1464g)
- Sodium 3695.28000032461 mg
- Sugar 431.471999916518 g
- Trans Fat 6.7737600030676 g
- Calories 2753 calories
Step-by-step
- 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, a spatula handle, or some other similarly-sized object, begin poking holes in the cake.
- You want the holes to be BIG 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, prepare pudding. 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.
- If you haven't done so already, crush your vanilla wafers.
- I just place mine in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- 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. You can do this part immediately before serving the cake if you like. This will ensure the wafers are crunchy when you serve it.
- Serve with freshly sliced bananas. Keep refrigerated.
Scaling for compact pans
Standard 9x13-inch pans demand significant refrigerator space that cramped kitchens often lack. Halving the cake mix and baking it in an 8x8-inch square pan requires reducing the milk and pudding mix proportionally to two cups of dairy and one 3.4-ounce package of pudding. Poke holes using the round end of a wooden spoon handle, spacing them about an inch apart so the crumb structure maintains integrity while absorbing the liquid.Managing texture and moisture
Allowing the poked cake to chill for the full two hours lets the pudding set completely within the crumb matrix, preventing a soggy bottom layer. Crushed vanilla wafers should be scattered across the whipped topping immediately before slicing to preserve their crisp texture. Humidity from the refrigerator softens the cookies within four hours, changing the crunch into a soft, cake-like consistency.Storage and leftovers
Refrigerate the assembled cake in an airtight container for up to three days, though the whipped topping may begin to weep moisture after 48 hours. Fresh banana slices turn brown rapidly through enzymatic oxidation, so garnish individual portions at the table rather than blanketing the entire surface with fruit beforehand.
