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Banana Pudding Cake Recipe

March 2, 2019 By M D. 44 Comments

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As someone who loves both banana pudding & banana cake, I couldn’t be more excited about this delicious Banana Pudding Cake recipe!

Ultra moist banana cake layers are filled with a light vanilla cream filling, layered with thinly sliced bananas and crushed Vanilla Wafers.

 

Moist and Delicious Banana Pudding Layer Cake!

 

Banana Pudding…in Cake Form

This cake does not disappoint- it tastes just like banana pudding, but with the impressive height and presentation of a layer cake! Keep it in mind for birthdays, family gatherings, potlucks, or anytime you just need a good ol’ slice of cake!

We decided that we wanted big banana flavor in our banana pudding cake, and so unlike some banana pudding cake recipes that call for a yellow cake, we decided to go with our favorite homemade banana cake recipe instead.  

Our vanilla cream filling is based on a “mock mousse” recipe that we love, and it couldn’t be easier– instant vanilla pudding plus heavy cream whipped into a delightfully light and creamy filling.

This vanilla cream filling recipe is so easy to make and PERFECT for this recipe, as it really brings in the flavor and luscious consistency of banana pudding that we love so much!

Banana Pudding Cake Recipe from Scratch- Ultra moist, flavorful and delicious!

 

 

 

 

How to Make a Banana Pudding Cake

 

  • First, we baked our banana cake layers in three 8 inch pans. Once baked, I like to leave the cake layers in their pans for 5 to 10 minutes on a cooling rack before flipping out.

 

Tip for Extra Moist Cakes

For all of our cakes, whether we’re making a scratch cake or doctored cake mix, we like to double wrap the layers individually in plastic wrap while they are still warm  and place in the freezer.

(If you are baking a week or more in advance, add an additional layer of aluminum foil before freezing.) Doing this step makes them extra moist!

Allow to thaw for a few hours before assembling.

 

  • When it’s time to assemble the banana pudding cake, prepare your vanilla cream, cream cheese frosting, crushed Nilla Wafers, and sliced bananas.

 

  • Pipe a dam of cream cheese frosting about 1/4-1/2 inch from the edge of the cake layer and fill with the vanilla cream.

  

Banana Pudding Cake Recipe from Scratch with vanilla pudding cream filling, bananas, vanilla wafers, cream cheese frosting and whipped cream!

 

 

  • Next, we layered on crushed Vanilla Wafers followed by thinly sliced bananas. Just as with banana pudding, the crushed cookies will absorb moisture from the pudding and soften.

 

 

This Banana Pudding Cake recipe from scratch is an amazing combination of banana cake, crushed Nilla wafers, sliced bananas, and frosted with cream cheese frosting.

 

  •  Repeat the step above for the second layer, then add the third banana cake layer and fill any remaining gaps with cream cheese frosting.

 

Settling Cake Layers

Whenever time allows, I like to wrap the filled, unfrosted cake with plastic wrap and settle it under the weight of a small book, cake pan, or something that will add light, consistent pressure across the top of the cake for a few hours.

All cakes are prone to settling over time, which can cause bulging between the layers. While this isn’t harmful to the cake, it can be frustrating.

Adding the weight to the cake as we discussed above will minimize the chances of bulging. A gentle press-down on the cake doesn’t hurt either just before frosting ;0) -Since this cake has a perishable filling, you would settle it in the refrigerator.

 

 

This scratch Banana Pudding Cake recipe is ultra moist and flavorful! It has all of the flavors that you love in banana pudding!

 

Decorating our Banana Pudding Cake

  • After frosting the cake tier with cream cheese frosting, I piped a double shell border using a piping tip 21. Instead of a traditional bottom border, I used crushed vanilla wafers. 

 

 

This Banana Pudding Cake Recipe is a crowd favorite!

 

 

  • Next, I whipped up some sweetened whipped cream and piped it onto the top of the cake, using a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away.

 

  • We added a sprinkling of vanilla wafer crumbs to the top, and pushed cookies into the top border.

 

That’s all there is to it! I’m telling you, this banana pudding cake is legendary! Don’t you just want to dive in?

 

The BEST Banana Pudding Cake Recipe by MyCakeSchool

 

Should Banana Pudding Cake be Refrigerated?

Here’s a peek inside. Because of the perishable filling, frosting, and whipped cream, you will want to keep this cake refrigerated until a couple of hours before serving.

Cakes and frostings do firm up a bit when chilled and so it’s a good idea to remove it from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving so that it can soften.

 

The BEST Scratch Banana Pudding Cake Recipe

 

Looking for more banana cake recipes? we love these too!

If you just can’t get enough banana deliciousness in your file of dessert recipes, you MUST try these other favorites from our site: 

  • Hummingbird Cake: This southern favorite is divine! A fantastic combination of bananas, crushed pineapple, pecans, and a hint of cinnamon. 

 

  • Banana Cake with Butter Pecan Cream Cheese Filling: It’s every bit as amazing as the name suggests! The banana cake used in this recipe is very similar to today’s recipe, but with an added hint of cinnamon. A filling of buttered pecans and cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement! Definitely add this recipe to your must-try list!

 

  • Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting– This scratch recipe has the perfect combination of flavors! 

 

  • Banana Split Layer Cake is the perfect summer birthday cake, with banana cake layers, strawberry slices, crushed pineapple, whipped cream cheese frosting, and a drizzle of chocolate! So gooood!

 

And finally, at my house, when we have a hankering for actual Banana Pudding, this EASY recipe is the one that we’ve always used! SO delicious! Find it on my daughter’s site here: Easy Banana Pudding

 

 

This moist and delicious Banana Pudding Cake recipe is the BEST!

My Cake School Online Cake Classes, Favorite Cake Recipes, and More!

We’d love for your scroll through our full collection of FAVORITE cakes and frostings in our Recipes Section.  Whether you like to bake from scratch or from a doctored cake mix, we have amazing recipes to share! 

If you would like to learn more about cake decorating, we have some great tutorials in our Free Tutorials Section, which also includes a Free Video Tutorials Section.

Or, for access to our entire library of hundreds of cake decorating video tutorials, you should consider becoming a member of our site! We would love to have you! you can find the details here: Joining Information for MyCakeSchool.com

 

 

Continue to Content

Banana Pudding Cake Recipe

The BEST Scratch Banana Pudding Cake Recipe

All the wonderful flavor of banana pudding in cake form! We love this amazing recipe!

Ingredients

For the Banana Cake

  • 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
  • 3 cups (342g) cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder (12g)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda (3g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
  • 12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1 /2 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups (363g) buttermilk

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 sticks ,1 cup, (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • 2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (total weight 452g) I use full fat cream cheese. Using reduced fat or the spreadable cream cheese will cause the frosting to be too soft. Soften very slightly.
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (2g) optional - it will cut the sweetness, popcorn salt is best to use because it is fine and dissolves faster
  • 2 teaspoons (8 g) vanilla extract
  • 6 to 6 1/2 cups (690g to 747g) powdered sugar

For the Vanilla Cream Filling

  • 1 small box instant Vanilla pudding (3.9 oz/96g) We used Jello- Brand
  • 2 c. (464g) heavy cream or whipping cream (stir in a little more if recipe is too thick)

For the Sweetened Whipped Cream (top of cake)

  • 1 cup (240g) heavy cream
  • 1/4 (29g) cup powdered sugar
  • 1 (4g) teaspoon vanilla

Vanilla Wafers and Sliced Bananas for Filling

  • 1 box Vanilla Wafers (we used about 20 coarsely crushed cookies in filling, plus additional for crumb border and cookies around the top. Adjust to your liking)
  • Thinly sliced bananas (we used two in the filling- adjust to your liking)

Instructions

For the Banana Cake (Makes 8 cups of batter)

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Grease/spray & flour three 8 inch pans and line with parchment circles
  • In the mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients, sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, & salt. Turn on the mixer and blend for 30 seconds to incorporate ingredients
  • Add the softened butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl
  • In a separate bowl, slice and mash the bananas, add lemon juice, eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla and buttermilk. Lightly mix these ingredients with a fork to blend
  • Slowly add the banana/buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients beating on medium speed for 1 minute, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and beat another minute.
  • Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool the cakes 10 minutes on the rack and then turn out.


For the Vanilla Cream Filling

  • Combine the pudding mix and heavy cream in a mixing bowl. I prefer to mix with a hand held mixer, but a whisk is just fine too. If using a mixer, start on low speed until well combined. Then, switch to high speed and whip the pudding until thick and fluffy. If mousse is too thick, mix in small amounts of heavy cream to reach desired consistency.
  • If mixing by hand, simply whisk rapidly for a couple of minutes or until mixture is nice and thick.
  • Refrigerate until ready to use. Cakes with this filling should be chilled until close to serving time.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until the butter is softened and smooth.
  • Cut the cold cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until incorporated. If you are using a hand mixer you may need to soften the cream cheese a bit more.
  • Add the vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low speed until blended. Cover the bowl with a towel to keep down the cloud of powdered sugar.
  • Increase mixing speed and beat until fluffy. Don't over beat or it will become too soft. If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate a short while to firm it up a bit.
  • This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly (do not microwave) and remix.

For the Sweetened Whipped Cream

Chill the mixing bowl and beaters/ whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes. Pour the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla into the chilled mixing bowl, begin beating on low speed gradually increasing to medium high speed. The cream begins to thicken (approx. 1 1/2 minutes) and soft peaks form….peaks that slightly bend over. Watch closely as this happens quickly. Do not over beat or it will turn into butter.

Assembly of Cake

Pipe a dam of cream cheese frosting about 1/2 inch from the edge of the cake layers. Fill in with vanilla cream. Layer on crushed vanilla wafer cookies and thinly sliced bananas. Repeat for next layer, then top with remaining layer. Frost cake with cream cheese frosting. Add border (We did a double shell border with a tip 21), add dollops of whipped cream (we piped on with a large round tip), and top with a sprinkling of crushed vanilla wafers.


Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Wilton Piping Tips Set (These can be purchased individually as well) 
    Wilton Piping Tips Set (These can be purchased individually as well) 
  • Magic Line Pans- 8 inch
    Magic Line Pans- 8 inch
  • Wilton Disposable Piping Bags- 12 inch
    Wilton Disposable Piping Bags- 12 inch
  • Wilton Offset Spatula- 9 inch
    Wilton Offset Spatula- 9 inch
  • Bench Scraper (For frosting around sides of cake- Note that this one is 6 inches.)
    Bench Scraper (For frosting around sides of cake- Note that this one is 6 inches.)
© Melissa Diamond
Category: Cakes and Cupcakes

 

 

Banana Pudding Cake Recipe from Scratch

 

 

Related posts:

  1. Pound Cake Recipe- A Classic Southern Favorite
  2. Banana Cake with Butter Pecan Cream Cheese Filling~ Recipe
  3. Caramel Apple Spice Cake Recipe
  4. Lemon Blueberry Cake from Scratch
  5. Champagne and Strawberries Cake Recipe

Filed Under: Blog Tutorials, Cakes and Cupcakes, Recipes

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Comments

  1. MsGF March 2, 2019 at 7:25 am

    Wow that looks and sound delish! :-) Yummy!

  2. Abigail March 3, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    Can’t wait to try this. You never disappoint

  3. Melissa Diamond March 4, 2019 at 12:07 am

    Thank you, ladies! xoxo

  4. Judy March 4, 2019 at 11:05 am

    I have a question. Would this cake turn out as well without the cookies between the layers? Are the cookies really important to keep the cake from becoming soggy?

  5. Melissa Diamond March 4, 2019 at 11:18 am

    Hi Judy, it’s no problem to leave the vanilla wafers out of the filling, you can just put them on the outside ;0)

  6. Rebecca Dunning March 20, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    I made mine this morning for work thursday. had all my ingredients and stuff right by me, got it all done and forgot to add the sliced bananas./ guess they wont know the difference tomorrow..

  7. BeBe March 20, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    Hi Rebecca, The cake looks wonderful!! Your friends at work will love it! They will never think about the missing sliced bananas because they are getting banana flavor from the cake. Plus now you won’t have to worry about those bananas turning brown. Thanks for posting your picture!

  8. Lei March 22, 2019 at 4:17 am

    How could I make this in cupcake form?

  9. Miranda Ramirez March 24, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    This cake is a wonderful tasting cake. Thank you so much. Used it for my mother’s birthday cake.

  10. Melissa Diamond March 24, 2019 at 4:32 pm

    @Lei- I haven’t made these as cupcakes but if I were to try, I would bake the banana cupcakes, then load a piping bag (with the end snipped away) with the pudding filling, insert into the cupcake about halfway down and give it a squeeze to fill it. Swirl with cream cheese frosting and top with a mini vanilla wafer. You may even want to put broken pieces of vanilla wafer into the center of the cupcake along with the filling. Let us know if you try it!

  11. Melissa Diamond March 24, 2019 at 4:50 pm

    @Miranda- I’m so happy that you liked it! Thanks so much for your feedback! xoxo

  12. Darian May 7, 2019 at 12:08 am

    Can you Bake this cake in a Bundt pan

  13. BeBe May 7, 2019 at 10:07 pm

    Hi Darian, To carry out the banana pudding theme of the cake you will need the vanilla cream filling, crushed vanilla wafers, and whipped cream on top. Do you plan to cut the bundt cake into layers? I think the cake could be baked in a bundt pan. The recipe makes 8 cups batter, fill your bundt pan approximate 2/3’s full.

  14. Reini July 1, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    I made this cake Saturday and it was a huge HIT!! Thank you for sharing.

  15. BeBe July 1, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    Hi Reini, Wonderful, I am happy that the cake was a hit. Thank you for posting your review!!

  16. Cheree July 19, 2019 at 4:56 pm

    I made this for a bake off at work and won. We love banana pudding amd this was next level delicious.

  17. BeBe July 19, 2019 at 5:07 pm

    Wonderful, Cheree, I’m so happy you won!! Thanks so much for your review of the recipe!!

  18. Christie September 8, 2019 at 5:52 pm

    Just finished making this cake and can’t wait to have my first slice!

  19. BeBe September 8, 2019 at 10:36 pm

    Hi Christie, Your cake is beautiful!! I hope you love it.

  20. Christie September 9, 2019 at 8:39 pm

    Amazing how this cake can actually taste just like homemade banana pudding! So moist and flavorful- this has quickly moved up to one of my top 5 favorite cakes!

  21. BeBe September 9, 2019 at 8:50 pm

    Yay!! I am thrilled that the recipe is on your top 5 list! Thanks so much for your positive feedback.

  22. Victoria Malcom September 19, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    Can you use all purpose flour instead of cake flour?

  23. BeBe September 19, 2019 at 8:17 pm

    Hi Victoria, This is how you can turn your all purpose flour into cake flour:

    For each cup of flour in the recipe, measure out 1 cup all purpose flour (plain in the UK) remove 2 Tablespoons of the all purpose flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK). This recipe has 3 cups of flour so measure 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch. Whisk to blend.

    I hope you will enjoy the cake.

  24. Crystal October 21, 2019 at 1:43 pm

    My son wants this cake for his birthday, but my daughter must eat gluten free. Any suggestions since cake flour has wheat?

  25. BeBe October 21, 2019 at 7:53 pm

    Hi Crystal, I am sorry but we don’t have a gluten free version for this cake. You could reserve some of the vanilla cream filling, add some banana slices to it and his sister could have a small bowl of banana pudding when you are eating the cake. It will be good and your son will get the cake he wants.

  26. lindacarter November 16, 2019 at 10:08 pm

    great recipes i am going to try that banana pudding cake for thanksgiving

  27. Pam February 19, 2020 at 7:11 am

    Many years ago I had ordered banana cake in a restaurant and it turned out to be the lightest and most fluffy slice of banana cake I’ve ever had. I’m a experienced baker and have tried many recipes for banana cake throughout the years unsuccessfully. I love the reversed creaming method and will be making your banana cake as it sounds delicious. I do love the texture of this method. Since I had this light and fluffy banana cake many years ago before the reverse creaming method came about I have to assume that the light and fluffy cake I tasted was a result of the regular creaming method. Would you have any idea how this baker accomplished this banana texture. I would appreciate any help.
    Many thanks

  28. Lori June 8, 2020 at 7:39 am

    This cake has become a hit! I’ve even made it in four 9 in round pans and made two cakes from this recipe! Delicious!!

  29. BeBe June 8, 2020 at 9:01 am

    Hi Lori, Your cake is absolutely beautiful!! So happy you have enjoyed the recipe!

  30. Darnisha Allen-Jackson June 19, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    I’m nervous, but i’m making this for my sister today. Pound cakes are my thing, layer cakes, not so much… hopefully it turns out right. Do I need to level the layers? Do you use cake strips for even baking?

  31. BeBe June 19, 2020 at 7:02 pm

    Hi Darnisha, Don’t worry, just read through the recipe to be familiar with the procedure. It is great if you have a kitchen scale, that makes for the most accurate measurements. Don’t scoop flour into the measuring cup, instead spoon flour into a measuring cup for dry ingredients. Slightly overfill the cup then level off with the back of a knife. Cream the butter and sugar until it lightens in color and is fluffy (important step). Don’t mix above medium speed or mix for too long. It is personal preference whether you level the cake layers or not. This recipe does not bake up with a very high dome. You can easily level with a long serrated bread knife, if you have one. Leveling the layers does make it easier to frost the cake, eliminating the gap between layers. You can definitely use baking strips if you want to. I hope all will go well, let me know.

  32. Rebecca Reeves July 10, 2020 at 2:43 pm

    Cakes was me and my grandmother. (maggies) thing. Yesterday makes 2 years she has been gone. So today im making your cake to feed my heart with her love

  33. BeBe July 10, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    Hi Rebecca, You have such a nice memory and sentiment about your grandmother.

  34. Cathleen T. August 15, 2020 at 1:21 pm

    Can this cake be made with regular American buttercream instead of cream cheese buttercream? I’m making this cake as a two tier baby shower cake and find the cream cheese frosting is too soft.

  35. BeBe August 16, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    Hi Cathleen, You could use American buttercream to frost the cake. When making cream cheese frosting, be sure to use full fat cream cheese. Also, don’t over mix the frosting, the longer it is mixed the softer it becomes. If it does become too soft, chill the bowl of frosting in the refrigerator for a short while, approximately 15 minutes. We often need to do this. You can also chill your filled piping bag if the frosting softens up while piping.

  36. Oaks September 15, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    How many people does this cake serve?

  37. BeBe September 15, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    Hi Oaks, For generous size servings, it will serve 14. If you are cutting party size servings there will be more but smaller servings. Below is a link to a baking times and serving chart

    http://fromkarenskitchen.com/tips/party_cake_batter_amounts_baking_times_2inch_pan.php

  38. dee November 15, 2020 at 12:34 pm

    Hello I am making this beautiful cake soon and would like to know does the cake flour need to be sifted?

  39. BeBe November 15, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    Hi Dee, I do not sift the flour. When the flour and other dry ingredients are in a bowl, I whisk for at least 30 seconds. This blends the ingredients as well as adding air into the flour. Hope you will enjoy the recipe.

  40. BeBe November 19, 2020 at 12:03 am

    Hi Sara, We suggest making the cake in advance because there are many steps to the recipe. Baking in advance and freezing the layers just helps to speed things up on the day of assembly. If freezing layers, cool in the pans 5 to 10 minutes, turn each layer onto a cake board, then wrap each layer individually with plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. You can freeze up to a month of wrapped air tight. I would not freeze in the cake pans. Click on the link below for Melissa’s 2 part video on Making a Cake from Start to Finish.

    https://www.mycakeschool.com/video-tutorials/how-to-make-a-cake-from-start-to-finish/

  41. Erika November 20, 2020 at 4:56 am

    Can i use all purpose flour instead of cake flour?

  42. BeBe November 20, 2020 at 12:37 pm

    Hi Erika, If you do not have cake flour, use this substitution. Measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons of cornstarch (corn flour in the UK). Whisk to blend and proceed with the recipe.

  43. Catherine January 15, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    I made this cake for someone and she was well pleased. I had leftover pudding, cookies, bananas and that heavenly whipped cream so I layered it up for my family and I to enjoy. Next time I have to make a cake for us as well. Thank you for this recipe!

  44. BeBe January 15, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    Catherine, Your cake looks amazing!! Thank you for your nice comments on the recipe.

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