Here’s a simple dessert that’s perfect for all those family gatherings coming up on your calendar. Whether it’s Mother’s Day, Memorial Day weekend, graduations, or family reunions, this easy dessert is sure to please your crowd.
I baked this one in a disposable aluminum pan with a high plastic lid, making it super easy to transport and no clean-up when the guests are done. I’ll be leaving this one at the WJLH-TV station for the crew, but yours can go to a picnic or party with friends.
A “poke cake” is where you poke holes in a baked cake (I used the handle of a wooden spoon) to make room for a delicious custard or pudding, then top with more pudding, whipped cream, fruit, cookie crumbs, etc. You can also poke holes with a fork and pour over your favorite flavor of liquid jello before it has had time to set, then chill in the fridge.
My version here is a banana pudding poke cake. Bake your favorite vanilla cake in a 13X9 pan. Once it’s cooled, poke holes about 1 1/2 inches apart across the entire cake. I did about 5 wide. Some people use instant pudding and pour it over the cake before the pudding sets. But I LOVE my French custard recipe, so I use a pastry bag with a large open tip and pipe each hole full. It doesn’t take much time to do. Here’s a recipe from my French custard here: http://bakingwithjulie.com/my-fav-dessert-hack-french-custard/
Once the holes are filled, I cover the cake with more of my French custard, then add a layer of sliced ripe bananas. Next, add a thin layer of sweetened whipped cream (or Cool Whip if you prefer). I sprinkle a layer of crushed vanilla wafers, then another final layer of whipped cream to seal it all in.
Now the fun part: decorating! I put vanilla wafers all around the outside edge of the pan, to help hold in all the yummy goodness. I use a large star tip to pipe some more whipped cream, add more wafers and crumbs, and put more French custard in the middle. You could add some fresh banana slices before serving, to avoid them browning. One I did for a meal with my church choir was decorated with dipped strawberries.
It’s easy to see how you could play with the flavors of poke cakes. You could do a chocolate cake with different custards, do a cookies and cream version, go all vanilla and add fresh fruit, add coffee to your custard for a mocha version, etc etc.
A few tips on baking with box cakes: Add milk instead of water (unless you’re doing a chocolate cake, then I would add coffee instead.) Add additional flavoring, like banana or rum extract for a cake like this one. Room temperature eggs always work better for cakes. If a box cake mix seems extra lumpy, sift it first so it mixes up better.
