Chocolate Banana Cake Box Filled With Banana Coconut Pudding

If there's one thing that never gets old, it's baking with bananas. Banana bread, banana cake, banana cream pie – we just can't get enough of them! We've been so inspired by the sweet, tangy taste of bananas that we came up with the ultimate cake recipe to showcase their delicious flavor. This chocolate banana cake box has a deliciously moist chocolate cake exterior that's hiding a surprise inside! Luxurious layers of coconut pudding surround sweet caramelized bananas in the center of the cake, making for a rich, creamy, tropical treat. This is one time you're going to want to think inside the box!

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Difficulty Level: Moderate

Ingredients:

For the chocolate cake batter:

• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 2¼ cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp baking powder

For the vanilla pudding:

• 1½ cups cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• 1 package of vanilla pudding powder

For the banana coconut pudding:

• 1⅔ cups coconut milk
• 1 package of vanilla pudding powder
• 3 bananas, cooked
• 2 oz chocolate shavings

For the caramelized bananas:

• ½ cup brown sugar
• 5 bananas, halved
• ⅓ cup whiskey

Instructions:

1. For the chocolate cake batter, beat the eggs and sugar until frothy and then stir in the water, followed by the vegetable oil. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Line a 16 x 14-inch sheet pan with parchment paper, pour the chocolate cake batter into the pan, and smooth out the mixture. For the vanilla pudding, combine the cream cheese, egg, powdered sugar, and vanilla pudding powder until creamy and then transfer the mixture to a squeeze bottle. Use the squeeze bottle to apply a crisscross pattern on top of the chocolate cake batter in the sheet pan, as shown in the video. Transfer the sheet pan to a preheated oven and cook at 350°F for 25 minutes. 

2. Let the baked chocolate vanilla pudding cake cool for 1 hour and then cut it into 6 even squares.

3. Prick holes in 3 bananas and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Transfer the sheet pan to the bottom rack of the warm oven and cook at 325°F for 30 minutes.

4. For the banana coconut pudding, combine the coconut milk and vanilla pudding powder in a saucepan over medium heat and briefly boil the mixture until it has a pudding-like consistency. Pour the coconut pudding into a shallow bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool for 1 hour. Remove the blackened bananas from the oven, cut off the ends, and gently squeeze the cooked banana flesh into the bowl with coconut pudding. Use a hand mixer to combine the ingredients until smooth and fluffy and then gently fold in the chocolate shavings.

5. For the caramelized bananas, caramelize the brown sugar in a pan over medium heat, add the halved bananas, and brown them on all sides. Carefully pour the whiskey into the pan and briefly flambé the bananas.

6. Line a 6 x 6 x 4-inch cube cake pan with parchment paper and then line the bottom and inner sides of the pan with the chocolate vanilla pudding cake squares from earlier. Spoon the banana coconut pudding into the cube cake pan and push the caramelized bananas into the pudding. Place the last chocolate vanilla pudding cake square on top to complete the cake box.

7. Let the chocolate banana cake box cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

From its rich chocolaty exterior to its creamy pudding & caramelized banana core, this chocolate banana cake box brings all the best flavors together in perfect harmony. It looks like banana bread is going to be a thing of the past!