Banana Pudding Poke Cake

Every year for my husband's birthday I make him a banana cream pie, his favorite.  This year I stuck to the theme but made a cake instead of a pie...a Banana Pudding Poke cake!  Yum, yum, yum!!  It was SO good.  And easy.  I love easy...

Layers of yellow cake and banana pudding are topped with sliced bananas...

Then Cool Whip and crushed Nilla wafers!!  Incredibly easy and you entire family will flip over this.  

Banana Pudding Poke Cake

1 box of yellow cake mix and all the ingredients needed to make cake

2 boxes (3.4 oz each) banana instant pudding mix

4 cups milk

2 bananas, sliced

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

1 box of Nilla wafers, cookies crushed

Prepare the cake according to the directions for a 9 x 13-inch pan and let cool slightly when done.  Using the handle of a wooden spoon, start poking holes in the cake.  You can poke holes all the way down to the bottom of the cake.  

Whisk together the instant pudding mix and milk until all the lumps are gone.  Let the pudding set for about 2 minutes until it is just slightly thickened, but still easily pourable.  Pour the pudding all over the cake and spread with the back of spoon to ensure that it gets in all the holes you poked!  Put the cake and pudding into the fridge until it completely sets.  Add the sliced bananas on top of the pudding.  Spread the thawed Cool Whip on top of the bananas, followed by the crushed Nilla wafers.  Serve chilled and store in the fridge.   

(Source:  Adapted from The Country Cook)