Banana Pudding Cake
Creamy, comforting, and utterly nostalgic, this Banana Pudding Cake blends the smooth banana flavor of pudding with the soft, tender crumb of a cake and a cloud of whipped cream on top.
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- 9x13-inch baking pan
- Hand Mixer
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 medium Ripe Bananas, mashed (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups mashed; ripe with brown spots for best flavor)
- 1 box Vanilla Cake Mix (15.25 oz or standard size)
- 1 box Instant Banana Cream Pudding Mix (3.4 oz; do not prepare with milk; use dry mix)
- 4 large Eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (or neutral oil)
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream (room temperature; for moisture and tang)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream (cold; for whipping)
- 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar (for whipped cream)
- 1 sleeve Vanilla Wafers (for garnish)
- 1-2 medium Bananas, sliced (for topping; sliced just before serving)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan, or line with parchment for easy removal.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the vanilla cake mix and the instant banana cream pudding mix until evenly combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix: mashed bananas, 4 large eggs, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup sour cream, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Use a hand mixer or stand mixer on low to medium speed and mix until just combined and smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure even mixing. The batter will be thicker than a typical cake batter due to the pudding and bananas.
- Pour the batter into the prepared 9×13 inch pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan. Cooling fully is important so the whipped cream topping won’t melt.
- While the cake cools, whip 3/4 cup cold heavy cream with 1/4 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat or it may become grainy.
- Once the cake is cooled, spread the whipped cream evenly over the top.
- Garnish with vanilla wafers and sliced bananas just before serving so the bananas stay fresh and the wafers retain some crunch.
Notes
Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best sweetness and banana flavor. Room-temperature eggs and sour cream help the batter mix more evenly. Don’t overmix after adding the dry ingredients; overworking the batter can make the cake dense. Cool the cake completely before adding whipped cream to prevent it from melting.