This recipe is featured in America the Barbecue, a celebration of our country’s 250th anniversary and its unique culinary history.
Banana pudding, meet sheet cake. This crowd-friendly dessert takes inspiration from the Southern favorite, pairing a plush banana cake with a cloud of vanilla pudding cream, fresh banana slices, and plenty of vanilla wafers.
Pouring hot browned butter over ripe bananas helps break them down while infusing the cake with toasty flavor. Meanwhile, steeping the banana peels in milk gives the topping an extra layer of banana flavor without adding extra fruit or moisture. The result is classic banana pudding flavor in the form of a snack cake that feeds a crowd, travels well, and slices neatly for picnics, potlucks, and cookouts.
Why steep the banana peels? Is it safe?
Banana peels are packed with aromatic compounds that smell intensely banana-y. Simmering the peels in milk extracts those flavors, giving the pudding cream a deeper banana taste without adding extra fruit, sweetness, or moisture. Be sure to scrub the bananas well before peeling, and watch the clock—the infusion can go from fruity to bitter if simmered too long. Listen to food editor talk more about banana peel infusion →
Can I use frozen bananas?
Yes, though you'll miss out on the extra banana flavor from the peel infusion unless you happened to save the peels too. Thaw completely and drain off any excess liquid before mashing.
Instant pudding? Really?
Yep! Because the milk is infused with the banana peels’ flavor, boxed pudding mix offers a welcome shortcut. If you’d rather take the long way around, use the infused milk to make a homemade pastry cream instead.
When should I add the topping?
You can spread the banana cream on the cake up to 6 hours ahead of serving (keep chilled), or about 1 hour at room temperature—just make sure the cake is totally cool first. Add the wafers and banana slices just before serving to keep the fruit from browning and preserve the cookies’ crunch. For even longer-lasting banana slices, brush them lightly with simple syrup after arranging.
Recipe information
Total Time
50 minutes (plus cooling)
Yield
24 servings
Ingredients
Cake
2
½
2½
2
1½
½
1½
4
¾
½
1
Topping and Assembly
1½
1
¼
2
¼
1
1
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Cake
Step 1
Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350°. Lightly coat a 13x9" metal baking pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper, then lightly coat parchment. Peel 2 very ripe bananas, scrubbed, and reserve peels. Place bananas, in a large bowl.
Step 2
Melt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Scrape brown butter into bowl with bananas and whisk to break up bananas and combine; reserve pan. Let banana butter cool slightly.
Step 3
Whisk 2½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ tsp. baking soda in a medium bowl to combine. Set dry ingredients aside.
Step 4
Add 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar to banana mixture and whisk until smooth. Add 4 large eggs, room temperature, ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature, ½ cup vegetable oil, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract; whisk until smooth and emulsified. Add reserved dry ingredients and whisk just until no streaks remain (batter may be lumpy).
Step 5
Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread to edges. Gently bang pan on counter 2–3 times to eliminate any large air bubbles. Bake cake until top is golden and springs back when gently pressed, 28–30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan (about 2 hours).
Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 2 days ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.
Topping and Assembly
Step 6
Trim and discard ends of reserved banana peels; chop peels into 1" pieces. Place in reserved pan and pour in 1½ cups whole milk. Set over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook (milk should be steaming or just barely simmering around edges of pan) 10 minutes. (It’s important to be precise, so set a timer. Don’t worry if your milk breaks. This can happen, but it will sort itself out once strained and whisked into the pudding.) Strain banana milk through a sieve into a large bowl; discard peels. Chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
Step 7
Add one 3.4-oz. box instant vanilla pudding mix, ¼ cup sour cream, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt to cold banana milk and whisk until smooth. Let pudding mixture sit 5 minutes to thicken.
Step 8
Meanwhile, whisk 1 cup heavy cream in a small bowl to medium-stiff peaks.
Step 9
Add whipped cream to pudding mixture and fold in with whisk until no streaks remain.
Step 10
Run a small offset spatula around sides of cake to loosen. Turn cake out onto rack and carefully peel away parchment; discard. Transfer cake to a platter. Scrape banana cream mixture on top of cake and spread out until nearly to edges, swooping and swirling decoratively. Chill cake at least 1 hour to further set banana cream if desired.
Step 11
Just before serving, arrange 1 medium banana, peeled, sliced ¼" thick, and mini vanilla wafer cookies over banana cream as desired.
Do Ahead: Cake (without banana slices and cookies) can be assembled 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.