Hummingbird Poke Cake

Hummingbird Cake, with its moist texture and flavoring from pecans, pineapple, and banana, is one of my favorite southern cakes. Usually I make a traditional-style  Hummingbird Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Icing, but I was in the mood to make a poke cake, Hummingbird style.

I had never eaten a Hummingbird Poke Cake before, but I thought it would be a fun and unique dessert. Poke cakes are so wonderfully moist and I love that they can be made a day or two in advance.

To start, I added 1 cup of ripe mashed banana, an 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple, and 1 cup of chopped pecans to a box of yellow cake mix. I then added the water and oil that the cake mix called for but cut down on their amounts since I was adding liquid and moistness with the pineapple and banana.

To bake the batter, I used a 9×13-inch pan and I let the cake cool slightly before I poked holes in it using the back of a wooden spoon.

Next I mixed together vanilla pudding mix (you could use banana flavor if you want a stronger banana taste), milk, and sweetened condensed milk and slowly poured it over the cake so that it seeped down into the holes. After the cake had been in the refrigerator for about 6 hours, I made a delicious, creamy but light frosting using cream cheese, whipped topping, and powdered sugar.

After spreading the frosting on the cake, I did a sprinkling of pecans and it was ready to be devoured. The texture was wonderfully moist and sweet, almost like a tres leches cake. It’s an easy and fun make-ahead cake that will feed a crowd.

Are you a huge fan of Hummingbird Cake? Try this Hummingbird Cake with Caramel Icing.

Watch the short video below to see how easy this cake is to make.

Hummingbird Poke Cake

4.38 from 8 votes

Prep: 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 4 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings: 16

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An exceptionally moist and delicious Hummingbird Poke Cake flavored with banana, pineapple, and pecans. Topped with a creamy and sweet cream cheese frosting.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
• ▢ 1 cup ripe,, mashed banana
• ▢ 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple,, undrained
• ▢ 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 1/4 cup water
• ▢ 3 eggs,, lightly beaten
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• ▢ 1 (3.4-ounce) box instant vanilla pudding mix
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups milk
• ▢ 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese,, room temperature
• ▢ 1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping,, thawed
• ▢ 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
• Using an electric mixer, beat together cake mix, banana, crushed pineapple, oil, water, eggs, and cinnamon until smooth. Stir in 1 cup pecans.
• Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes, or until firm to the touch on top.
• Let cool 10 minutes and then poke holes in cake, spaced about 1 inch apart, using the end of a wooden spoon.
• Using an electric mixer, beat pudding mix, milk, and sweetened condensed milk together at medium-speed until smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Slowly and evenly pour over cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
• To make frosting, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup of whipped topping together. Add sugar and remaining topping and beat just until combined.
• Spread frosting over cake and sprinkle with pecans.

Notes

This recipe can be made a day or two in advance.

Nutrition

Calories: 364kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Post originally published July 20, 2014.

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