What’s better than banana pudding? Banana pudding and cake, of course! My banana sheet cake is soaked with pudding and infused with even more banana flavor for an extra-special dessert I know my family will love.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 55 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Yield: | 12 to 16 servings |
Ingredients
- Vegetable shortening, for greasing the pan
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (see Cook’s Note)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (from about 3 large)
- Nonstick cooking spray, for the wooden spoon
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large bananas, peeled and sliced, plus more for garnish
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 25 vanilla wafers, coarsely crushed, optional
Instructions
- For the banana sheet cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
- Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each addition. Add the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Add the bananas and beat just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 38 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Use the handle of wooden spoon (coated with cooking spray) or a straw to poke holes halfway through the cake in 1-inch intervals. Set aside.
- For the the pudding: Whisk together 1/4 cup milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside. Combine the granulated sugar and salt with the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir just until the sugar dissolves.
- Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl, then slowly add a little of the warm milk to the egg yolks, whisking constantly, until all the warm milk is incorporated. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and return to the saucepan. Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the pudding thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.
- To assemble: Pour the pudding over the cake, spreading evenly. Layer the banana slices over the pudding. Place plastic wrap directly over the surface of the bananas and pudding. Cover and refrigerate until the pudding is chilled, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make the whipped cream. Combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with a handheld mixer until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the cooled pudding and bananas. Garnish with more banana slices and crushed vanilla wafers, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 14 servings |
| Calories | 566 |
| Total Fat | 29 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Carbohydrates | 71 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 46 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 140 mg |
| Sodium | 265 mg |
Reviews
Made this cake for Sunday dinner and everyone loved it. I’m not going to lie. I was a bit intimidated about making a homemade cake, which I very rarely do. However, the cake came together very nicely and wasn’t complicated at all. Surprisingly the pudding was easy to do as well. I had never made a pudding from scratch, and it came out perfect!! This cake will definitely get made again, but only for very special occasions, hahaha.
This cake is amazing, everybody loved it. I added another 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to the whipped cream to make it sweeter, and instead of crumbing the Nilla wafers on top, I served each piece with a whole Nilla wafer stuck into the top and a maraschino cherry. Rave reviews!
I’d love to, but there’s only two of us now and I suspect the 12 to 15 serving would not
keep very long. Any suggestion for a 4-8 serving version. Or maybe a single serving in
ramakin !!
keep very long. Any suggestion for a 4-8 serving version. Or maybe a single serving in
ramakin !!
This cake was amazing after we poked it, it was super light and fluffy with a subtle banana flavor. Then after we refrigerated it, it became super dense and just tasted similar to banana bread. Will make just the cake again and maybe add mini chocolate chips and just frost it.
What i like about this recipe is the fact that you can use it as is, or just use banana pudding or just use light banana cake.
I so enjoy Kardea’s show. I am glad they finally toned down the canned electronic music in the background. I would rather just listen to Kardea. The music is distracting.
Excellent cake… my kids love banana pudding and this cake was a perfect addition to my summer menu.