Banana pudding cake is a soft, buttery yellow cake covered in cool vanilla pudding, sliced bananas, vanilla wafers and a thick layer of whipped cream. It is banana pudding you can cut into squares, made for potlucks, church suppers, Easter and summer cookouts.
How to make banana pudding cake: Bake a homemade buttermilk cake in a 9×13-inch dish at 350°F for about 30 minutes. Let it rest, poke holes in the top, and spread on prepared instant vanilla pudding. Add sliced bananas and vanilla wafers, then cover with fresh whipped cream.
Why You’ll Love It
- A from-scratch cake. The base is a real butter and buttermilk cake, not a mix.
- All the banana pudding parts. Pudding, bananas, wafers and cream, in every square.
- One pan. It is baked, topped and served from the same 9×13-inch dish.
- Easy to carry. No layers to stack and nothing to slide on the way to the party.
Ingredient Notes
All-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. The dry mix: 2 1/2 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Unsalted butter. Sixteen tablespoons, which is 2 sticks, melted.
Eggs. Five medium eggs.
Buttermilk. One and a quarter cups, added in turns with the flour.
Instant vanilla pudding mix. One box. Make it the way the box says. The recipe does not name a box size or a milk amount, so the box is your guide.
Heavy whipping cream. Two cups, whipped with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
Bananas. Two or three, sliced when you are ready to assemble.
Vanilla wafers. One cup, some left whole and some crushed.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 eggs, medium
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
For the topping
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix, prepared according to the box instructions
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2–3 bananas, sliced
- 1 cup vanilla wafers, some whole and some crushed
How to Make Banana Pudding Cake
1. Prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Make the batter. Beat the sugar and melted butter with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed for 3–5 minutes. Beat in the eggs and the cake portion of the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, mixing until combined.
4. Bake the cake. Spread the batter in the prepared dish and bake for about 30 minutes. Start checking at around 25 minutes; a 9×13-inch cake can take up to 35 minutes. Look for a golden top that springs back when gently pressed.
5. Prepare the toppings. While the cake bakes, make the instant pudding according to its box instructions. Beat the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and remaining vanilla extract to make whipped cream. Refrigerate both until assembly.
6. Rest and poke. Let the baked cake sit for 5 minutes. Poke holes in its top, then let it sit for another 5 minutes.
7. Assemble. Spread the pudding over the cake. Add the sliced bananas, some whole wafers and the crushed wafers. Spread whipped cream over the top, and pipe any remaining whipped cream on top if you like.
When Should the Vanilla Wafers Go On?
It depends on how you like them. In this recipe the wafers go into the cake when you assemble it, over the pudding and bananas and under the whipped cream. Sitting in pudding and cream, they soften, the same way they do in a bowl of banana pudding. That is the soft texture of a classic banana pudding.
If you want crunch, hold some wafers back and set them on top just before serving. Wafers tucked under whipped cream will not stay crisp, and no trick changes that.
| You want | When to add the wafers | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Soft, pudding-soaked wafers | When you assemble the cake | Over the pudding and bananas, under the cream |
| A crisp garnish | Just before serving | On top of the whipped cream |
| Both | Crushed wafers at assembly, whole wafers at the table | Inside and on top |
Either way, the cup of wafers in the recipe stays the same. You are only choosing when they go on.
Tips for Success
How do I know the cake is done?
The top is golden and springs back when you press it gently. Check at around 25 minutes and give it up to 35 if it needs it.
Why poke holes in the cake?
The recipe has you poke the top after the first 5-minute rest, before the pudding goes on, so the pudding has somewhere to settle into the cake.
How much milk does the pudding need?
Follow the box. The recipe says to prepare the instant pudding according to its box instructions and gives no amount.
How long should I beat the butter and sugar?
For 3–5 minutes on medium speed, before the eggs go in.
When should I slice the bananas?
Right at assembly, when the pudding is on the cake and the cream is ready to cover them.
How Long Does It Take?
About 65 minutes. The recipe lists 25 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of baking, which is 55 minutes, and that number does not include the two 5-minute waits after the cake comes out of the oven. Add those and you are at 65. The pudding and whipped cream are made while the cake bakes, so they do not add time.
If you enjoy pudding desserts, Old Fashioned Rice Pudding is a creamy stovetop option with cinnamon and vanilla.
For another pudding dessert, Butterscotch Lush layers butterscotch pudding with cream cheese and whipped topping.
Storage & Reheating
This cake is served cold and is not reheated. With pudding and whipped cream on top, it has to stay in the refrigerator. USDA FSIS says to refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours, or within 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F. Keep leftovers covered, in shallow containers, and use them within 3–4 days.
What to Serve With It
For another banana dessert, there is the no-bake banana split cake. If you like cold, creamy pan desserts, try the Oreo dirt cake or the lemon poke cake with soaking syrup. For fruit cakes, bake Bea’s blueberry sheet cake, the lemon blueberry cake or the 5-ingredient slow cooker pineapple cream cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should the vanilla wafers be added if I want a crisp garnish?
Just before serving, on top of the whipped cream. Wafers added during assembly soften under the cream.
Does the stated total time include the waits after baking?
No. The 55 minutes listed do not include the two 5-minute waits. Count on about 65 minutes.
How should a pudding-and-whipped-cream-topped cake be stored?
In the refrigerator, covered. Do not leave it out for more than 2 hours, and use leftovers within 3–4 days.
What size pan do I need?
A greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
Final Notes
I keep a handful of whole wafers back and set them on top at the table, because I like some crunch against the soft cake. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
Banana Pudding Cake
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Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter melted; 2 sticks
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 eggs medium
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract for the cake
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix prepared according to the box instructions
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for the whipped cream
- 2–3 bananas sliced
- 1 cup vanilla wafers some whole and some crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Beat the sugar and melted butter with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed for 3–5 minutes. Beat in the eggs and the cake portion of the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, mixing until combined.
- Spread the batter in the prepared dish and bake for about 30 minutes. Start checking at around 25 minutes; a 9x13-inch cake can take up to 35 minutes. Look for a golden top that springs back when gently pressed.
- While the cake bakes, make the instant pudding according to its box instructions. Beat the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and remaining vanilla extract to make whipped cream. Refrigerate both until assembly.
- Let the baked cake sit for 5 minutes. Poke holes in its top, then let it sit for another 5 minutes.
- Spread the pudding over the cake. Add the sliced bananas, some whole wafers and the crushed wafers. Spread whipped cream over the top, and pipe any remaining whipped cream on top if you like.
