The fruity flavors of strawberries and bananas pack a punch in this strawberry banana cake that uses a strawberry cake mix, instant banana pudding mix, and strawberry frosting from your grocery store!
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Saving time is every busy baker’s dream, and this strawberry and banana cake is the recipe that will do just that!
Our supermarkets are full of premixed and ready-to-eat foods that are designed to make life a little easier, so why not take advantage of some of these delicious options?
This is exactly what I wanted to do when I created my easy strawberry and banana cake, and it has become my newest summer potluck dessert.
Believe me; no one will suspect that this rich and creamy dessert took you less than 20 minutes of active prep time and less than 2 total hours from start to finish—including cooling and setting!
The traditional flavor combination of strawberry and banana comes together with a cake mix and instant pudding mix, and a final flourish of ready-to-eat strawberry frosting is literally the icing on the cake.
Garnish with fresh fruit, and watch your strawberry banana pudding cake disappear!
Here’s what I’m going to teach you in this post:
- How dessert mixes and ready-to-eat ingredients can come together to create a rich and delicious homemade treat.
- Low-fat and non-dairy substitutes for whole milk in this strawberry banana pudding cake.
- Combining fresh fruit with flavored ingredients adds more layers of amazing flavor in every bite.
Saving time with store-bought mixes and adding fresh tastes along the way will give your strawberry banana cake a ton of flavor that you can personalize in many ways!
How To Make Strawberry Banana Cake
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
STEP ONE: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease your baking pan with nonstick spray.
STEP TWO: If you have time, allow your eggs and milk to come to room temperature, and give your melted butter several minutes to cool. Combine all three with boxed cake mix and vanilla, whisking until smooth.
Transfer the batter to your greased pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
STEP THREE: While the cake cools, whisk together the remaining milk, vanilla, and instant banana pudding mix until thickened. If you can’t find banana pudding, here’s an easy way to make banana pudding using only 3 ingredients out of vanilla instant pudding!
Poke holes all over the cake, then pour the pudding mixture over the top. Cover tightly with plastic and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
STEP FOUR: Remove the poke cake from the refrigerator and dot the canned strawberry frosting over the top. Swirl the frosting into the pudding until the topping is light pink all over.
STEP FIVE: Top your dessert with freshly sliced strawberries and bananas just before serving. Store your finished strawberry banana cake in the refrigerator for up to 3 days — the banana slices will start to brown, but they are still safe to eat!
How Do I Keep Sliced Bananas From Turning Brown?
If you can’t wait until the last minute to slice the bananas for the top of your cake, try soaking them in a little honey and water.
Dissolve 2 teaspoons of honey in a cup of water and pour the mixture over your banana slices.
This will make the bananas sweeter and a little sticky, but the banana flavor won’t be altered — and the protective layer created by the honey will keep the bananas from turning brown!
How Do You Make Simple Strawberry Frosting?
Strawberry frosting only requires 3 ingredients and takes no time to prepare.
Just mix 4 cups of powdered sugar with 1 cup of softened butter, then add ¼ of strawberry puree.
If the consistency isn’t quite right, add a little more puree until your frosting is smooth and rich but easy to spread.
This will yield a little more than you need for my strawberry banana cake recipe, but I’m sure you’ll find a use for the excess!
What Can I Substitute For Whole Milk In Baking?
Low-fat milk can be used in place of whole milk in my strawberry banana pudding cake, but it may result in a softer pudding.
If you’re using a low fat instant pudding mix, it has already been formulated to use low-fat milk and won’t affect the finished product.
If you want to stay away from dairy entirely, coconut milk is a great substitute for milk in an instant pudding mix and in a cake mix.
Choose full-fat coconut milk to keep your pudding thick and creamy!
How Far Ahead Of Time Can I Make This Cake?
Because this cake is so moist, I don’t recommend finishing the assembly of your cake until right before you want to serve it.
However, baking the strawberry cake the day before you serve it is a great way to work ahead!
Keep in mind that the pudding needs at least an hour to fully set, so give yourself enough time for this step, as well as swirling your frosting with the set pudding.
Other Fruity Dessert Recipes You’ll Love:
- Lemon Bars With Graham Cracker Crust
- Lemon Poke Cake
- Strawberry Jello Salad
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- 3 Ingredient Banana Cookies
- Strawberry Crunch Topping
- Banana Bread Without Baking Soda
- Strawberry Shortcake Crumble
- Raspberry and White Chocolate Loaf Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Strawberry Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box 15.25 ounces strawberry cake mix
- 5 cups whole milk divided
- 1 stick ½ cup butter, melted
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract divided
- 2 packages 3.4 ounces each instant banana cream pudding mix
- 1 container 16 ounces strawberry frosting
- 2 ripe bananas sliced
- 2 cups fresh strawberries halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×13” pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix, 1 cup milk, melted butter, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When the cake has finished, allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Then use a chopstick (or another small round utensil) to poke holes all over the cake.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 4 cups of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla with the banana pudding mix. Whisk for 1-2 minutes, or until the pudding has thickened slightly.
- Pour the pudding evenly over the strawberry cake. Cover the cake and place it in the fridge to chill for 1 hour, or until the pudding is set. The pudding will not fully absorb into the cake– that’s okay!
- Dollop the strawberry frosting over the pudding and swirl the pudding and the frosting together until you have a light pink, creamy topping. It will look like the pudding and frosting won’t mix but keep swirling (about 2 minutes) and they will incorporate into a delicious frosting!
- When you’re ready to serve, decorate with freshly sliced bananas and strawberries (and sprinkles, if using). Keep in mind that the bananas will brown as they sit to make sure to add them immediately before serving.
- Store any leftover cake covered or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
