| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 3 hr 25 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray, for spraying the pan
- All-purpose flour, for dusting the pans
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- One 11-ounce box vanilla wafers, crushed
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and lightly dust with flour. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mash the bananas and then stir in the lemon juice. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla wafers in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the wafers. Beat until combined, then add the mashed bananas and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool completely.
- For the filling: Separate the yolk from the white of 1 of the eggs. Discard the white. In a saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt until completely combined. Stir in the egg yolk and remaining whole egg, and then stir in the milk. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring often, until the pudding thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap, laying the wrap directly on the surface so a skin doesn’t form. Chill in the fridge until completely cooled, about 30 minutes.
- Spread the pudding between the cake layers. Chill the cake until the pudding filling is set, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Sprinkle the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 481 |
| Total Fat | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 70 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 54 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 113 mg |
| Sodium | 169 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 481 |
| Total Fat | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 70 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 54 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 113 mg |
| Sodium | 169 mg |
Reviews
I followed this recipe exactly as written and it is terrible. The cake tastes like Gerber Banana Baby Food and the custard/pudding is bland and only tastes sweet even after adding the vanilla the recipe calls for. Mine looks just like the cake in video but all 6 of us absolutely hate it!
Does anyone know how many cups of crumbs the 11 ounce box of wafers makes?
My kids saw Trisha making this and begged me to make so of course I did. It’s delicious and super easy! Whole family loved it!
It was really easy and loved the flavor
Made them into baked doughnuts. Dipped them into the filling. Yum
Totally heavenly…
This cake is very decadent and moist. I confess, I did make it in a Bundt pan for portability and served the pudding as a custard sauce.
I have published two dessert cookbooks, so I am always looking for the easiest way to present a recipe. For those of you who wanted a measuring cup amount for your ground vanilla wafers, it is about 3 1/3 dry measure (not liquid) cups.
If the mashed bananas worked for you, that is great. A trick I learned about bananas in bread, muffins or cake, is that you can dice them. Sometimes mashed bananas liquify and make a baked good that sinks in the center and doesn’t bake evenly.
Happy baking!
Cece B. Chocolate Crimes
Simple and delicious. I made it for my daughters 6th Birthday as she requested a banana cake. I put a candle in the center and added dollops of whipped cream with a vanilla wafer on top of the whipped cream. I am a huge fan of Trisha’s recipes. It’s unique and my family loved it.
I made this cake today, OCT 22, 2019. I bumped it up some. I made everything exactly as the recipe stated. I live in CO, the mountains at over 6,500feet in elevation so i was concerned but there’s no rising element and it had a beautiful brown color. Was a little difficult to get out of the pans, so i think i’d use lard and flour instead of the spray. My own change up was, brushed it with Grand Marnier on both layers. I took another banana and sliced it up, threw it in a pan with butter and brn sugar, and some more Grand Marnier! lol sauted them up! Took the first layer and put on the banana mixture, and then put on the pudding and the other layer. Its really good! I almost wanted some type of frosting on the top, put i did sprinkle pow sugar on it and let it go. I have those left over egg whites so i considered using them but it was sweet enough! so there’s my take on this yummy cake!
Made this cake and I used instant vanilla pudding instead of custard and it was delicious