Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

If you’re an old fashioned banana pudding lover looking for a delicious twist, you’re in for a real treat with Banana Pudding Cupcakes. These delicious cupcakes take the classic Southern dessert and turn it into bite-sized delights that are perfect for any occasion. 

These cupcakes start with simple vanilla cupcakes with a vanilla wafer on the bottom, a simple vanilla pastry cream and a banana slice go into the center of the cupcake, and then they are topped with whipped cream, with a vanilla wafer and a slice of banana on the top of each cupcake.

Ingredients needed for Banana Pudding Cupcakes:

  • Vanilla wafers
  • Fresh bananas
  • Vanilla extract
  • Unsalted butter
  • Powdered sugar
  • All purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Large eggs
  • White Sugar
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Cornstarch
  • Whole milk

Supplies needed:

  • Cupcake Liners
  • Muffin tin
  • Hand Mixer
  • Large Bowl
  • Wire rack for cooling

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

To get started, you’ll need to whip up a batch my favorite cupcakes. Place a vanilla wafer into the bottom of the cupcake liner- or if using mini sized, break 2-3 apart so they fit into each liner. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from pan. Let cupcakes cool completely before filling/frosting. 

While the cupcakes are baking make the creamy vanilla pudding filling. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, egg, egg yolk, whole milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk together until combined, then continue whisking constantly for about 10 minutes, until the pudding thickens and starts to bubble.

Add in the butter, remove from the heat, and whisk until completely melted. If there are any lumps, pour the pudding through a mesh sieve into a separate bowl. Allow pudding to sit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, covered in plastic wrap, until cool to the touch. Chop the bananas into small pieces and fold into the pudding mixture.

Using a cupcake corer or a paring knife, carefully carve out the center of each cupcake to make room for the banana pudding filling.

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Fill each cupcake with the banana pudding filling, making sure to generously fill the center of each one. Top each filled cupcake with whipped cream frosting or homemade whipped cream, and garnish the top of the cupcakes with a slice of fresh banana and a mini vanilla wafer (or just half of a full sized one!)

Remember to use room temperature ingredients for the smoothest batter and creamiest frosting. Whip the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks for the perfect texture. And take your time filling the cupcakes to ensure each one is packed with delicious banana pudding goodness.

Once assembled, store your banana pudding cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge to keep them fresh for days. 

So there you have it—Banana Pudding Cupcakes, the perfect combination of classic Southern flavors and irresistible sweetness. Whether you’re a banana lover or just looking for a fun twist on a classic dessert, these cupcakes will be your new favorite thing!

Other Banana Desserts to try:

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 stick of butter, at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk, at room temperature

For the banana pudding:

  • 2 1/4 cups whole milk
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 bananas

For the whipped cream topping:

  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Banana slices and vanilla wafers for garnish (optional)

Instructions

First make the Pudding:

  • In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, egg, egg yolk, whole milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk together until combined, then continue whisking constantly for about 10 minutes, until the pudding thickens and starts to bubble.
  • Add in the butter, remove from the heat, and whisk until completely melted. If there are any lumps, pour the pudding through a mesh sieve into a separate bowl. Allow pudding to sit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, until cool to the touch.

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, mix in vanilla.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down the bowl- don't over mix the batter.

Place a vanilla wafer into the bottom of each cupcake liner- or if using mini sized- break 2-3 apart so they fit into each liner. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from pan. Let cupcakes cool completely before filling/frosting.

For the stabilized whipped cream*:

Place metal bowl and wire whisk beater or beaters in freezer to chill.

In a small saucepan stir together the powdered sugar and cornstarch. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup heavy cream and whisk until smooth.

Place on medium heat and stir constantly until mixture thickens and almost comes to a boil. (it will look pudding-like) Remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl and pop it in the freezer to chill while you start whipping the cream.

In the chilled bowl combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and the vanilla and beat with the chilled whisk of your stand mixer (or hand mixer) until very soft peaks form. While still beating add the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture a little at a time. Beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks and seems spreadable. (Don't over-mix!)

To assemble:

Chop the bananas into small pieces and fold into the chilled pudding.

Use a paring knife to cut a circle in the top of each cupcake with your knife at an angle making a cone-shape. Remove the cones and fill each cupcakes with a generous dollop of pudding- spreading it to the edges if desired.

Frost with whipped cream topping and top with a banana slice and vanilla wafer. (Banana slices will turn brown eventually so do this right before serving!)

Notes

This extra step of the cornstarch slurry helps keep the whipped cream stiff and frosting like instead of getting watery. If you are serving your cupcakes right away you can just use regular whipped cream.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

76 Comments

  1. Awwww…these cupcakes are adorable and I’m sure they taste delicious, too! How is it that I had never thought of this amazing flavor combination myself?! Thanks to your little sister for inspiring these deliciousness!

    xo, Elisa

  2. Oh my goodness, these are the prettiest cupcakes ever! And filling them with pudding? GENIUS.
    I know that I could get mine to look no where near as purdy as these, but my belly won’t know the difference ;) Pinned!

  3. So adorable! And such a great idea to put pudding into a cupcake :)

  4. I really want to make these cupcakes but I have never made banana pudding before so I’m curious as to how and when you add the bananas to the pudding. Are they mashed and mixed in with the vanilla and butter or do you add them in while cooking? Thanks in advance for answering my question….although I’m sure everyone else knows the answer ;)

    1. Never mind my previous post…I actually read the whole recipe and found my answer at the bottom..hehe. It’s amazing what you find out when you read the whole recipes before asking questions. Have a great day!

  5. My husband has been wanting banana pudding for a while now. Looks like I might be making these cupcakes instead.

  6. Hi! I’ve been following your blog for some time now and I wanted to say congratulations for both the beautiful blog (photography and recipes!) and the baby! Honestly, each photo looks mouthwatering and I love reading each and every post! I was just wondering, when you say you’ll do some advanced baking, do you mean you are prepping recipes to be posted while you embrace your newborn baby, or that you will post the recipes now, and then you’ll have a break from the posts? I’m sorry, I got a little confused in the introductory paragraph! And being a frequent reader, I wanted to be sure if you would be taking a break, which is more than acceptable! Thank you so much for your blog and hard work!

    1. Hi Jessi- I have some posts saved up to share while I’m on maternity leave so the blog shouldn’t have too great of a lapse while I adjust!:)

      1. Thanks a lot for the reply! That’s great to hear, I’ll be able to read more posts hahah ;)

      2. Wendi Cooper says:

        Can you freeze these and add whip cream on top after thawing?These sound so amazing and almost everyone likes banana pudding.I wanted to take these to my family reunion but will need to make ahead.

      3. What can indomwith the leftover innards? Can iput in some bread?

  7. These are ADORABLE. I love banana pudding so I know I’d love these.

  8. These would be the perfect Valentine’s gift for my hubby, Audra.
    I love that you don’t cheat & use boxed pudding. I cannot wait to make these!

  9. I have been very eagerly awaiting these cupcakes since you posted about them on instagram! I’m not sure how banana pudding will go over with the.boy. But, you know. More for me.

  10. Such pretty cupcakes, and they sound absolutely delicious!! Love the pudding and bananas and wafers and really just…all of it. Pinned!

  11. I have been searching far and wide for a banana pudding cupcake recipe that isn’t a modified box cake or have instant pudding! I am eager to try these, but how is the pudding added to the cupcake? I’m sure it’s a common sense answer, but I don’t want to assume.

    1. Nope not common sense- I just forgot to include it- I fixed it :)

  12. I’ve always looked at the pudding recipe on the box of vanilla wafers and thought I’d like to make it. Probably unlike most of your readers, I actually am focused less on the banana pudding and more on the vanilla wafers as an ingredient–I am addicted to them! Like Ayana, I haven’t made filled cupcakes before and would love to try this recipe. It seems to me that some additional instruction under #15 explaining how to get the pudding inside the cupcakes is missing (or is filling cupcakes explained elsewhere on your site?).

    1. You are right- I forgot to add that info- Pregnancy Brain?! I fixed it :)

  13. I’m literally wanting to cry because these aren’t in front of me RIGHT NOW. I’m obviously having a very “grown up” day. Oops.

    But seriously. Shut the front door. I want all the cupcakes.

  14. OH my goodness gracious. This preggo cannot even handle these right now! I want dozens… in my belly… for the baby, of course. Speaking of, hope you’re not waiting to much longer for your little boy, Audra! :) Thinking of you!

  15. Hi Audra, I’ve featured your yummy looking cupcakes on my blog, hoping that you don’t mind, but if you do, please contact me and I’ll remove it. All the best.

  16. HERE is a cupcake my mom would loove! She’s not a sweets person but when there’s banana pudding or cream pie in front of her…ooooh!

  17. These cupcakes look sunny and lovely and I am sure were really yummy!

  18. I want to make these for my graduation open house (I can’t stand those store bought cakes), but I want to make almost everything the night before. Do you think the cupcakes will get too soggy from the pudding filling? Obviously, I will have to add the bananas on top in the morning… probably coat them in a little lemon juice. Just curious what your thoughts are! Thanks! I love banana pudding. <3

    1. Hi Kelly! I think it should be OK. Fill the cupcakes and frost and then add the toppings in the AM :)

  19. 1 1/2 stick of butter dosen’t equal 12 tbsp that’s about 3 sticks of butter. Correct if I’m wrong

    1. 1 stick is 8 tablespoons so yes 1 and a half sticks are 12 tablespoons :)

  20. Thank you Audra I will be making this weekend! I’ll let you know how it goes

  21. I made these for work Tuesday and they were a big hit. What can I do with the leftover innards? Think I can put them in a bread mixture.

    1. The pudding? You can eat it as is, or layer it with fruit/vanilla wafers and make a new type of pudding!

  22. Hi Audra! Thanks so much for this awesome recipe. I just made these and, my frosting came out yummy, but it isn’t very stable (it’s been about 5 minutes and, it’s beginning to “sag”). Any suggestions on how to create a more stiff whipped cream frosting, and hopefully one that can last overnight, so that I can bake 36 of these one night, for a birthday party the next morning? Thank you!

    1. Hi Seema! Sorry for the late reply. I really think the whipped cream is the best topping for these. Did you add the corn starch mixture to help it stay firm? That worked pretty well for me- I’d suggest adding a little more of that until you reach the desired consistency?

  23. This recipe was disappointing. Barely made 12 cupcakes. Batter was super thick. Directions are unclear. I’ll never make anything from this site again.

    1. I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you- it’s one of my most popular recipes!

  24. I would love to make these from scratch BUT wondering how they would turn out with box pudding and ready made whip cream….

    1. I never tried it that way but I imagine it would work :)

  25. Hi, i made these today and let me tell you…as far as the pudding it was easy to make, was my first time making pudding. I didn’t have cornstarc, so I replaced that with flour, which was ok, flavor and consistency was great. When i got to the cupcake part, I didn’t have milk so i used full fat half and half…for buttermilk I used almondilk with vinegar, other than that I followed the directions. The whipped cream, was a fail :( i did try it out as written but it went flat. I followed a different recepie and i topped them with a vanilla wafer , banana and crushed cookies. The cupcakes were moist for a few after that they were dry:( not sure where I went wrong

    1. Cupcakes aren’t really meant to last more than a day or two. I would definitely suggest eating these soon after you make them- they are always best fresh!

      1. I disagree with your statement of cupcakes not being fresh for more than a day or two. Most of my from scratch recipes are moist and yummy for 3-4 days

  26. Thank you so much for this post. I made 84 mini cupcakes last night for a job function today. These are amazing!! I have to say, though, they are laborious. It took me a few hours to finish everything. It’s well worth it though!

  27. Made these last night to bring to our Easter dinner and they are wonderful! Your directions were so clear and easy to follow. Thanks for posting :)

    1. Also the recipe did make a full 24 cupcakes for me! Thanks again!

  28. Dawnica Green says:

    My family absolutely LOVE LOVE loves this recipe. I have made them several times with a couple adaptations. I don’t eat banana pudding but my family loves it so I had to make them and the response was overwhelming! I added 2 pureed bananas to the cake batter for more banana flavor and chunks of banana into the pudding.
    And I use the leftover scooped out banana cake to as the bottom to a mini banana pudding!

  29. I made these today and had never heard of adding a powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture to whipped cream but I went with it and the whipped cream completely curdled, it looks like rice pudding. I’m so bummed, wanted to take these to an oscars party tonight.

    1. Hey Melissa- Stabilized whip cream is pretty common- it prevents it from weeping after it sits out. Sorry it didn’t work for you- I have made it many many times! Regular whipped cream would be fine if you prefer.

    2. This happened to me too! Making regular whipped cream instead and hoping it will hold up…

    3. Mine’s curdled as well. Fortunately, I had whipped topping in the freezer or I would have “been up the creek without a paddle!” I will try it one more time and then just move to the whipped topping and call it a day if it doesn’t work the 2nd time.

      1. With whipped cream you just need to stop before it’s over-whipped. Otherwise it does curdle (which is actually it turning into butter!)

  30. Hi- these look yummy & I’m making them now but I think there’s a typo on the vanilla extract for the cucake. It says 2 tablespoons, which seemed like a lot to me so I confirmed on Martha Stewart’s recipe that it is 2 TEASPOONS. Thanks for the great idea/recipe!

  31. Best cupcakes ever! For the cupcake batter I use Betty Crocker vanilla super moist cake mix. In addition to the box directions I add an extra egg, 1 oz of oil and a 3oz box of instant banana pudding. I get so many requests for these cupcakes! Amazing!!!!

  32. I made today and it was my first receipe from scratch. Everything turned out perfect except the batter. I think I over mixed it so next time I will be more careful. No one seem to mind and loved them!

  33. How would you recommend storing these cupcakes, in the fridge I’m assuming?

    1. Yes! Fridge but bring to room temperature a bit before serving

  34. I was so excited to make these cupcakes. I followed the recipe exactly and it made 24 cupcakes. The vanilla cupcake was good, but the whipped cream frosting was a disaster. It had the wrong consistency, probably my fault for over mixing, and was not nearly sweet enough. I did not find that there was enough banana flavor in the finished product. It was very bland. So I tried icing some of the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and it was absolutely delicious. It tasted less like banana pudding, but was a fabulous cupcake over all.

    1. I’m so sorry. Whipped cream can definitely turn to butter if it’s whipped too much…

  35. How much grams is one cup?

  36. how many cups does the banana pudding make?

  37. Help! How long does the whipped cream last on the cupcakes? I need to know my birthday is in two days (April 25) pls help!

  38. These are absolutely DEEEEELISHUS!!!!

    Exactly what I was seeking

    1. The pudding was the winner and worked very very well. I suggest spreading a thin layer (or more) across the top of the cupcake. The cupcake itself isn’t sweet, so the pudding on the top takes care of the sweetness for every bite.
    2. The cupcake was very dense. Perhaps I over mixed at some point. Will be more conscientious next time.
    3. One sister doesn’t eat bananas, so I stuffed the cupcake with chopped strawberries and blueberries.
    4. My whipped topping curdled, so I was saved by Cool Whip, that I happened to have in the freezer. (Whew). That was delicious.
    5. I used the middles plucked out of the cupcake, to later make two truffle in small 10 cup (cake, whipped cream and fruit). Oh my, that was delicious!

    I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the recipe. Just don’t over mix the cake and topping.

  39. Can this recipe be made in half?

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