Chocolate Banana Pudding Poke Cake

With my family, there doesn’t have to be a holiday or celebration to have dessert. If we get together for a family dinner, you can bet there will be dessert. Homemade or store-bought. It doesn’t matter. But there must be dessert. This was originally an “experiment recipe” and of course I tested it on my family. But now it’s my go to dessert when I want to make an effort to actually make dessert, but don’t necessarily have the time or energy to be a Master Chef.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box Devil Foods cake mix. (You can make your own from scratch. But why? Take the help when you can get it.)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1 package instant banana pudding mix 5.1 ounce size
• 3 cups cold milk
• 4 medium bananas
• 1 carton Cool Whip topping 8 ounce size
• Optional: sprinkles or fruit for decorating

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the cake batter according to directions using the water, oil and eggs.
3. Pour the cake batter in a 9X13 baking pan that has been lightly coated in baking spray or wiped throughout with vegetable oil.
4. Bake for 35-38 minutes.
5. Let the cake completely cool down.
6. When the cake is cool, use the bottom of a wooden spoon and poke holes throughout the cake. Yes, I know you just baked it and watched it rise to become a smooth surfaced chocolate cake. But I mean it. Get to poking! That’s why it is called a “poke” cake. 
7. Next, whip the banana pudding mix with 3 cups cold milk for 2 minutes.
8. Immediately pour the pudding onto the cake, making sure all holes are filled with pudding.
9. Put the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to let the pudding completely set.
10. In the meantime, cut up 4 bananas into slices.
11. Pull the cake out of the refrigerator and arrange the banana slices on top of the pudding layer. Be sure to cover entire cake.
12. Now layer the Cool Whip topping over the bananas.
13. Add sprinkles and/or fruit to decorate.

I hope that you and your family enjoy this cake as much as my family does. You don’t have to tell them how easy it was to make. That can be our little secret.

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