Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Three 8-inch pans. Heavy grease. This cake doesn’t forgive corners cut during prep.

Why You’ll Love This Cream Cheese Frosting Cake

Takes 45 minutes total but tastes like you spent a weekend on it. The pudding layer keeps everything moist for days — bananas, cake, all of it stays soft instead of drying out like most layer cakes do.

Comfort food that actually works. Not too sweet because the frosting uses cream cheese, not just butter and sugar. Tastes better cold from the fridge.

Crushed cookies on the side give you texture. One bite is frosting, banana, cookie crunch, cake, then pudding. Doesn’t get boring.

Kids eat it. Adults eat it. Crowds disappear it fast. No leftovers ever.

What You Need for Cream Cheese Frosting Cake

Cake layers start with four large eggs and three egg whites — that’s airiness. One cup buttermilk, half a cup sour cream, three-quarters cup vegetable oil. The oil keeps crumb tender. Sour cream adds tang that balances sweetness later.

Two and three-quarter cups cake flour — not all-purpose, it matters — plus one box instant vanilla pudding mix whisked right into the dry ingredients. This is what makes it taste like pudding cake without extra steps.

For the filling, grab another box vanilla pudding mix and two cups milk. Whisk it thick in a bowl and chill it hard.

The cream cheese frosting part: eight ounces softened cream cheese. Block style. Not the spreadable kind. Three cups powdered sugar, one teaspoon vanilla, one cup heavy cream whipped stiff.

Three ripe bananas. Not yellow-green. Not brown-black. Yellow with brown spots dotting the peel. Slice them thin.

Crushed vanilla wafers or graham crackers for the sides. Vegetable shortening and flour for panning.

How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting Cake

Heat oven to 350. Grease three 8-inch pans heavy with shortening — don’t skimp — dust each one with flour and tap out what doesn’t stick. Flour strips under the pans help edges stay level. Not required but worth it.

Beat eggs, whites, buttermilk, oil, sour cream, vanilla in a big bowl. Whisk fast so it gets airy without going crazy with bubbles. The sour cream stays in there — adds tang, keeps cake from getting dry. Oil instead of butter does the same thing.

Dump in cake flour and that box of pudding mix. Whisk fast but stop before you overbeat it. Dense bricks are the result if you keep going. Batter should look glossy and thick but still pourable. Split evenly between the three pans. Tap each pan hard on the counter to kill the big air pockets. Not fake tapping.

Bake 23 to 28 minutes. Start checking at 23 with a toothpick in the center. Pull it out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging. If it’s wet, it’s not done. Top gets lightly golden. The middle rises slightly. Don’t expect a flat top — slight dome is right.

Cool on wire racks completely. Turn out after 20 minutes so steam doesn’t soak the bottom. While cakes cool, whisk the second box of pudding mix with two cups milk in a bowl. Not the instant kind — this one needs whisking until zero lumps exist. Refrigerate until thick. Thicker than pouring consistency works better for assembly.

How to Build Cream Cheese Frosting Cake

Cream cheese frosting has to be right or the whole cake suffers. Use a stand mixer if you have one. Whip the softened cream cheese alone for 3 to 4 minutes on medium-high until fluffy and light. Don’t let it get warm or it breaks. Scrape the sides halfway through.

Add powdered sugar gradually with one teaspoon vanilla. Mix until combined. Stop and scrape. Sugar should be incorporated but not gritty. Pour in heavy cream slowly at first, then speed it up. Whip until stiff peaks form — you should be able to hold a fork upright in it without it drooping. Use this frosting right away or cover it for 15 minutes in the fridge before assembly.

On a serving tray, place one cake layer face down. Pipe a thick ring of cream cheese frosting around the edge — this acts like a dam to hold pudding from running off. Spoon half the chilled pudding into the center and smooth it flat with an offset spatula or just a regular one.

Layer sliced bananas over the pudding. Ripeness matters here. Overripe bananas turn to mush and collapse. Too green and they taste chalky. You want yellow with brown spots. Slice them thin so they distribute evenly.

Set the second cake layer on top, face down. Repeat the frosting ring, pudding, bananas again. Top with the final layer, flat side up this time so your cake has a clean top.

Cover the entire outside with remaining frosting, smoothing it with a spatula or bench scraper. Press crushed vanilla wafers onto the sides so the frosting holds them. Crushed cookies hide any crumb mess and add crunch when someone eats a slice.

Pile whipped cream on top if you want, or sliced bananas, or cookie pieces. It looks better that way. Banana browning too fast? Squeeze a little lemon juice on the slice. Slows it down but only works short term.

Refrigerate in an airtight container. Eat within 3 days before bananas get mushy and cake loosens up from all that moisture.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

By Emma

Print Pin

Prep:

20 min

Cook:

25 min

Total:

45 min

Servings:

12 servings

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 box vanilla pudding mix (for filling)
• 2 cups milk (for pudding filling)
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for frosting)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 ripe bananas sliced thin
• Crushed vanilla-flavored cookies (Nilla Wafers or substitute graham crackers)
• Vegetable shortening for pans
• Flour for dusting pans

Method

1. Cake
2. 1 Oven at 350°F. Grease three 8-inch pans heavy with shortening, dust flour, tap out excess. No lazy greasing. Use soaked cake strips if you want even edges; keeps sides flat - I swear by them. It’s the difference between good and lone lopsided flour bomb.
3. 2 Beat eggs, whites, buttermilk, oil, sour cream, vanilla in big bowl. Use whisk; you want airy but no bubbles exploding everywhere. Sour cream adds tang, oil keeps crumb juicy; no butter here, saves dryness.
4. 3 Add cake flour and pudding mix. Whisk fast but barely—overmix = dense bricks. Batter looks glossy, thick but still pourable. Divide evenly into pans. Tap pans hard on counter to pop air bubbles. No fake tapping; you want silence after.
5. 4 Bake 23-28 minutes. Start checking center at 23 by inserting toothpick or skewer. Pull out clean or barely crumbed, no sticky goo. Top will be lightly golden with domed middle but no cracks. Jiggle gently: rubbery bounce signals moistness inside. Pull early rather than too late. Let cool completely on wire racks, turn out after 20 minutes so steam doesn’t sog layers.
6. 5 While baking, whisk vanilla pudding mix with milk in bowl. This is not instant; whisk until no lumps, fridge cold to set pudding thick. Thicker than pouring consistency is good. Refrigerate until assembly.
7. Frosting
8. 6 In stand mixer bowl or large bowl with hand mixer, whip cream cheese 3-4 minutes at med-high till fluffy but not melted. Use block cream cheese, not spreadable types full of stabilizers. Scrape sides.
9. 7 Add powdered sugar gradually, vanilla. Mix till combined. Stop, scrape again. Frosting must be consistent but not gritty from sugar.
10. 8 Pour in heavy cream. Whisk slow start, then speed up to medium-high till stiff peaks. Like holding fork upright in mountain peaks. No spills, no droops. Use immediately or cool covered for 15 minutes before frosting. Heavy cream can be swapped 1:1 with half-and-half for lighter but won’t peak as stiff.
11. Assembly
12. 9 On serving tray, place one layer face down. Pipe thick ring of frosting around edge – acts dam to hold pudding interior. Spoon half the chilled pudding into center, smooth with offset spatula.
13. 10 Add sliced bananas evenly. Bananas ripeness matters; overripe soggy mush wrecks structure, too green and flavor is chalky. Use bananas yellow with brown spots; slice thin.
14. 11 Second cake layer face down on top. Repeat pudding, bananas. Final cake layer on top, flat side up this time for neat top.
15. 12 Cover the entire cake with remaining frosting, smoothing with spatula or bench scraper. Press crushed cookies onto sides. Don’t skip - adds crunch and hides crumb mess.
16. 13 Pile whipped cream dollops and sliced bananas or cookie halves as garnish. Banana browned fast? Squeeze lemon juice to slow oxidation but works only short term.
17. 14 Keep refrigerated in airtight container. Best eaten within 3 days before bananas get too mushy and cake loosens.
18. 15 If you find cake drying too fast next time, add a simple syrup splash between layers, but watch soggy risk.
19. 16 This cake isn’t forgiving if rushed chilling steps. Patience in cooling layers pays big dividends.

Nutritional information

Calories

430

Protein

5g

Carbs

48g

Fat

25g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Cream Cheese Frosting

Can I make this cake ahead? Bake layers a day before, cool completely, wrap them tight. Don’t frost until a few hours before serving. The frosting using cream cheese holds fine but bananas are the time limit here.

What if my cream cheese frosting breaks or gets grainy? Happened to me once. Too warm or overbeaten. Start over with fresh cold cream cheese. Mix slower next time. Sugar needs time to incorporate. Don’t rush it.

Do I have to use the pudding mix? You don’t have to but it’s why this cake stays moist. Without it, you’re making a regular cake. This pudding layer — that’s the whole thing.

Can I use a different icing for this instead of cream cheese frosting? Sure. But cream cheese icing is why this works. Buttercream gets too sweet. Stabilized whipped cream works. Soft cheese icing just tastes better with banana and pudding.

How thin should I slice the bananas? Thin enough that you don’t bite into a chunk. Quarter-inch maybe. Thin slices distribute the banana flavor without weighing down the cake. Thick slices turn mushy.

Why isn’t my cake baking evenly? Oven hot spots or pans weren’t greased the same. Use cake strips next time — they cost five bucks and actually fix this. Or rotate pans halfway through baking.