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Banana Split Poke Cake Recipe

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This homemade Banana Split Poke Cake Recipe features a homemade vanilla cake with a banana pudding filling and topped with whipped cream and your favorite banana split toppings! 

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A beautifully decorated slice of cake garnished with a cherry, a sliced banana, a strawberry, sprinkles and hot fudge sauce.

I can’t believe summer is nearly halfway over and I haven’t even been to the beach yet! There’s been plenty going on between our families visiting, work trips and local events but I feel as though summer is slowly slipping through my fingertips.

The Oregon summers are just so gorgeous….until it gets too hot. Anything over 75-80 is just too warm for me, especially when I have to bake!

It’s hard to stop me from baking during the summer, especially if it’s a Banana Split Poke Cake and something about banana split screams summertime to me!

A slice of banana split cake on a gold polka dot plate. The vanilla cake is filled with a banana pudding and topped with sundae toppings

This is a homemade vanilla cake with a banana pudding filling and topped with whipped cream and your favorite banana split toppings!

You’ve got your hot fudge, sprinkles and nuts, plus some fresh bananas and strawberries and it’s finished off with a cherry on top.

Whenever I order an actual banana split, I tend to shy away from the caramel and pineapple sauces and go all chocolate. What about you?

That’s the best part about this recipe, you can make it all your own with your favorite toppings!

A gold polka dot plate with a slice of poke cake with a few bites taken out of it.

The cake base is my moist vanilla recipe, and it’s filled with a banana pudding. You can certainly make your own banana pudding, but for the purposes of time, an instant banana pudding works wonders here.

If you wanted to, you could totally substitute the homemade cake for a vanilla cake mix if you prefer.

For the topping, you just need a batch of homemade whipped cream (or Cool Whip if you want to save some time) and your toppings.

An overhead shot of a colorful splice of cake on a gold polka dot cake plate

Oh! I just thought of the best idea! What if you had a banana split party and served this cake with ice cream and then let all your guests serve up their own toppings!! Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

I am pretty obsessed with poke cakes, I just love the cold cake contrasted with the soft pudding and the whipped topping. I have so many variations of these cakes I am excited to finally have a recipe for a Banana Split Poke Cake!

Homemade Banana Split Poke Cake Recipe

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A beautifully decorated slice of cake garnished with a cherry, a sliced banana, a strawberry, sprinkles and hot fudge sauce.

Banana Split Poke Cake Recipe

  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 12 slices

Description

This homemade Banana Split Poke Cake recipe features a homemade vanilla cake with a banana pudding filling and topped with whipped cream and your favorite banana split toppings! 

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup light sour cream
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cups milk (I use nonfat)

For the filling:

  • 1 package (3.4oz) instant banana pudding
  • 1 ¾ cups milk

For the topping:

  • 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup powdered sugar

Optional toppings:

  • Fresh bananas
  • Strawberries
  • Cherries
  • Hot Fudge Sauce
  • Caramel Sauce
  • Sprinkles
  • Walnuts

Instructions

  1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
  2. Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
  3. Add half the flour followed by the baking powder and salt, and beat on low speed while pouring in half of the milk and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate.
  4. Finally add the remaining flour, mixing on low speed while pouring in the remaining milk and beating until all of the ingredients are well combined.
  5. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
  6. Pour the batter in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan and bake at 350°F for 28-32 minutes, keeping a careful eye on the baking during the last few minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  7. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done. Cool completely.
  8. Take a wooden spoon or another round object and poke holes over the top of the cake.
  9. In a small mixing bowl, combine pudding with the milk and whisk together until the powdered mix is dissolved.
  10. Pour the liquid pudding mix over top of the cake, try to fill the holes with the pudding mix. Refrigerate the cake until the pudding is firm, about 10 minutes or so.
  11. Place the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to chill
  12. Pour the heavy whipping cream into the chilled bowl and use an electric mixer to beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until the cream thickens.
  13. Slowly add the powdered sugar and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks start to form. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake.
  14. Garnish with your favorite toppings priors to serving. This cake must be refrigerated.

Notes

  • For a quicker variation, make this with a vanilla cake mix instead or substitute the homemade whipped cream for Cool Whip

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This No-Bake Banana Pudding Cheesecake get rave reviews every time. No-Bake Banana Pudding Cheesecake is just like classic banana pudding but with tangy layer of cheesecake. It has a vanilla wafer crust, no-bake cheesecake, vanilla pudding, fresh bananas and whipped cream.

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