Banana Split Poke Cake

Pin RecipeJump to Recipe

Banana Split Poke Cake is an easy cake recipe made with white cake mix. Topped with banana pudding, fresh berries and all the classic sundae fixings, it’s the perfect dessert for summertime!

Love banana splits? Try this Banana Split Cheesecake next! Or give our easy banana pudding poke cake recipe a try soon.

Slice of banana split poke cake on a white dessert plate.
Want to Save this Recipe?
Enter your email and get this recipe sent to your inbox to save for later! Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!

What is a Poke Cake

A poke cake is a cake that’s purposefully pierced with holes after baking. Bakers pour creamy pudding or sweet gelatin mixture over the holes to saturate the cake with moisture and flavor.

Poke Cakes first gained popularity in the United States in the 1970s with recipes like Watergate Cake made with instant pudding and Strawberry JELL-O Poke Cake.

Once you learn how to make poke cake, you’ll understand why they’re staple desserts in so many households.

Poke Cakes are

  • easy
  • fun to make
  • delicious
  • You can make poke cake in just about any kind of flavor. All you have to do is change up the pudding flavor and the toppings!

This Banana Split Poke Cake was inspired by my love of the traditional ice cream sundae. It brings together sweet fruity flavors with rich chocolate and creamy cool whip on a moist white cake!

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients needed to make banana split poke cake.

Every part of this cake, from the base to the cherry on top is designed to replicate the irresistible flavor of a loaded Banana Split.

  • White Cake – The vanilla flavor mimics the vanilla ice cream at the heart of a banana split sundae. We used a box mix prepared in a 9 x 13 sheet pan. Feel free to use a homemade white cake recipe instead!
  • Instant Banana Pudding Mix – You’ll whisk this with milk, then pour it over the baked cake. If you can’t find the banana version, use instant vanilla pudding instead.
  • Cool whip – This is spread over the cake after chilling. Feel free to swap it out for real whipped cream if preferred. Or make our homemade cool whip!
  • Fruit – We topped the cake with sliced bananas, strawberries and crushed pineapple. And don’t forget the cherry on top!
  • Chocolate syrup – No banana split poke cake is complete without a generous drizzle of chocolate. Use our homemade chocolate syrup for best results!

Easy Instructions

Step by step photos showing how to make banana split cake.
  1. Bake the white cake according to package (or from scratch).
  2. Poke holes all over the baked cake while it’s still warm. We use the handle of a wooden spoon for this. A wooden skewer or food thermometer also works well.
  3. Pour the pudding all over the warm cake. Now place the cake in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours.
  4. Arrange the sliced berries, bananas and pineapple on top after the cake has chilled. Cover the fruit layer with cool whip then drizzle the whole thing with chocolate sauce.
  5. Finally, arrange the maraschino cherries on top. Slice and serve cold!

Tips and Tricks

  • Storing: Banana Split Poke Cake should be stored covered in the refrigerator. It’s best enjoyed within a day or two of assembly.
  • Substitutions: Feel free to change up the toppings based on your preferences for banana splits. Caramel, strawberry and butterscotch sauce would all be delicious on this cake too!
  • Don’t skip the chilling! Chilling the poke cake gives the pudding time to soak into the cake and set up a bit. If you skip it you’ll end up with mushy poke cake that falls apart easily.
  • Sprinkle with peanuts or toasted pecans for a sweet and salty finish!
Slice of cake with bananas, strawberries, and pineapple on a white plate.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this poke cake with a different kind of cake mix?

You sure can. Readers have had success making this with yellow cake mix and strawberry cake mix too! The flavor will be different but still tasty.

Does the cake need to chill overnight?

Chilling Banana Split Poke Cake overnight is a great option, but not strictly necessary. Usually the cake requires a minimum of 3 hours to set-up in the fridge.
We don’t recommend chilling it for less than 3 hours, as the cake may not be cold enough to hold up to the toppings before then and it gives the pudding time to firm up.

Can I make this poke cake ahead of time?

You can make the poke cake up to 2 days ahead of time, just wait to add the toppings, including the fruit and cool whip, until you’re ready to eat it. Keep the baked pudding-soaked cake tightly covered in the fridge, then add the toppings shortly before serving.

More Easy Desserts

Pin this now to find it later

Pin It

Banana Split Poke Cake

No ratings yet
By: Aimee
A delicious, easy summer cake recipe: Banana Split Poke Cake. Made with a white cake mix, banana pudding, fresh berries, pineapple and all the fixings. This will go fast at dessert, so make sure you get a big slice before it's gone!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 24 large slices

Ingredients 

  • 1 white cake prepared in a 13×9 dish
  • 1 box Instant Banana Pudding mix 3.4 ounce
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 large bananas sliced
  • 8 ounce strawberries sliced
  • 1 cup crushed pineapple drained
  • 12 ounce Cool Whip
  • ¼ cup chocolate syrup
  • 24 maraschino cherries
Save this Recipe?
Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe straight to your inbox!

Instructions 

  • Prepare white cake according to package directions for a 13×9 cake.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk until smooth.
  • Remove cake from oven and poke holes all over the cake. Pour pudding immediately over warm cake. Refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
  • When chilled, top with sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, crushed pineapple and Cool Whip (in that order). Drizzle with chocolate syrup and place cherries on top. Serve cold.

Notes

  • Storing: Banana Split Poke Cake should be stored covered in the refrigerator. It’s best enjoyed within a day or two of assembly.
  • Substitutions: Feel free to change up the toppings based on your preferences for banana splits. Caramel, strawberry and butterscotch sauce would all be delicious on this cake too!
  • Don’t skip the chilling! Chilling the poke cake gives the pudding time to soak into the cake and set up a bit. If you skip it you’ll end up with mushy poke cake that falls apart easily.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 115kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 2mg, Sodium: 42mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 14g
Course: Cake
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!

Sweet, fruity and covered in chocolate sauce, this Banana Split Poke Cake is a refreshing cold dessert. A welcome treat for a hot summer day!

Avatar photo

About Aimee

Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

Learn more about Aimee.

Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

Learn How To Become a Better Home Baker
Sign up for the Shugary Sweets FREE Email Course Today—soon you’ll say, "I made it from scratch!"

Categories: ,


Posted on August 10, 2022

Comments & Reviews

  1. I made this cake twice and each time it’s never any left overs!! Instead of using the yellow box cake – I use strawberry cake mix and it’s a hit every time! I will be making this for memorials day as a requested from my sister!! Thanks for sharing ♥️

  2. If I don’t have Strawberries, what is the best substitute for the Strawberries, I really want to try this cake, I can get all except for Strawberries..

  3. looks wonderful so doing WW now and would love to do this and not feel so guilty. I make cakes using diet soda so thinking diet 7 up then sugarfree pudding and add points for the fruit and using light cool whip. They do sell sugar free chocolate syrup maybe for go the cherries???? Do you think this might work?

  4. I have to admit that I’m not usually one for poke cakes but this is the best looking one I’ve ever seen! You may have converted me. 😉 Yummy yummy!!

  5. Great your site. When i view your article and view your site have good.
    I like your site.I have feel good in your content the best.
    Article have good on cyber world.

    Thank for sharing article.

    Thank your again

  6. I’m wishing I had all the ingredients for this right now!! Maybe I should call my hubby to stop at the store! It looks so good!

  7. This is totally going to be a crowd pleaser. Love the moist cake topped with all the delicious fixings for a banana split.

  8. What a fun cake and so perfect for the summer! 🙂 Love the pudding mix included – a must for extra moist cakes!

  9. How fun! I love all the toppings! I’m so into poke cakes right now too!

  10. This is such a fun recipe!! I never would’ve thought to turn a classic dish like banana split into a cake!

  11. Cannot get enough of this great theme week! You and Jocelyn are fabulous!
    Poke cakes are the best. I never knew about them until about a year ago, and now I can’t stop making them! And this one is definitely going in the rotation!

  12. I am loving all those fun toppings all over the pudding cake!!! Such a delicious cake for a picnic!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating