Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2012

If I were rating this on taste, it would be a five star recipe. However, there is one major flaw in the directions: this recipe doesn't say what size cake to bake anywhere in the directions. It simply says to bake according to package directions. (It mentions that the original recipe yields one 9x13 cake). After reading others' reviews, I realized that even a 9x13 cake would not work, since the toppings would quickly tower over the baking dish. I baked the mix in a half-sheet pan for 25 minutes. After cooling, I cut it and put it into one 9x13 and one 8x8 pan (I had some cake left over). I followed the topping directions, but used one box of vanilla and one box of cheesecake pudding. I used pecans for the top of the cake and added shaved milk chocolate (candy bar). I did cut the cherries in half before adding them to the cake. I found that I needed to use four bananas instead of three, probably because I was making two cakes. Made this way, the cake had a good amount of topping on a good amount of cake, and I was still able to cover it for travel. If I had baked a 9x13 cake and put all that topping on just that cake, it would have been impossible to take it anywhere. My coworkers devoured this and were asking for the recipe.

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Reviewer:

Pam-3BoysMama

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Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: May 19, 2010

I made this cake for a birthday, and it came out sooo good! Light, cool, delicious, simple and fun to make, and very pretty! I found a very similar recipe on the Kraft site, and I used a couple of their suggestions: I used the juice drained from the pineapple as part of the liquid in the cake mix, and I mashed an extra banana and added that to the mix, too. I baked the cake in a greased 13"x9" pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. I followed the advice of other reviewers and used banana pudding mix instead of vanilla in the cream cheese layer. I used a 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple on top of the sliced bananas. I found that an 8-ounce container of whipped topping was adequate for covering the top of the cake; I think 16 ounces would be a bit much. To decorate the top of the cake, I used a large 10-ounce jar of whole maraschino cherries (which I found for an inexpensive price at Walmart), and I used closer to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

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Reviewer:

Cathie H.

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Pasco, Washington, USA

Living In: Richland, Washington, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 28, 2010

Very tastey. BUT, people should note that you need to cream the cream cheese first than add the pudding mix & milk. I didn't do that and I ended up with cottage cheese looking pudding spread, lol. It was still yummy though.

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Reviewer:

Kim

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 21, 2009

This cake got more "I want the recipes" than anything else I have taken to work. The birthday girl was very pleased. The only thing I did different was drizzle some choc. syrup over the pinapple and put some sliced strawberries on top with the cherries.

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Reviewer:

aabkd

Reviewed: Sep. 8, 2009

First of all, let me tell you this is the very first review I have ever made...so this has to be the best!! Years ago an older employee would give us a cake similar for Christmas. It has been years since I have been without this cake. Not anymore!! This cake is to die for! The only difference is I LAYER the cake, the same way our old friend did. Two of everything. First the yellow cake, then the bananas and pineapples, then filling then the next yellow cake. Finally more of the filling all over the cake, and topped off with the cherries and walnuts. This is a must have at any party. I took this to a labor day celebration yesterday, and EVERYONE went back for seconds! This makes so much it will easily serve 20 people when it is layered. Thank you so much for sharing a fond memory of a friend from years back. This one has been added to my "The Best Of The Best File!"

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Reviewer:

Heather S.

Reviewed: Sep. 7, 2009

I just thought this was OK...the pudding/crm cheese mixture didn't have a whole lot of flavor. I used 1 box vanilla, 1 box banana puddings. However, I took this to a Labor Day BBQ and it was completely gone, so I guess maybe my opinion was wrong! I DID skip the maraschino cherries and topped it with sliced strawberries and nuts and a drizzle of Hershey's syrup. Next time, I might try doctoring up the pudding layer, maybe that would help.

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Reviewer:

junger26

Reviewed: Aug. 20, 2009

I made this cake for my family reunion. It was a hit. I baked two layers in seperate 9 by 13 inch pans. Then I transferred it to a deep dish 9 by 13 inch lasagnaa pan. I seperated the toppigs between the 2 layers. However, I added strawberries to inner layer and chocolate syrup on top.

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Reviewer:

Ruth Jones

Reviewed: Jun. 30, 2009

I have decided to use an organic yellow cake mix with less calories/fat, and baked the banana's into the cake mix. I creamed the lower fat cream cheese, and pudding mixes together, and topped it with the pineapple. I arranged the marshino cherries according to each serving. Very, very, tasty and moist!

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Reviewer:

MISSMOON

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Danbury, Connecticut, USA

Living In: Suffield, Connecticut, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 25, 2009

This is the Banana Split Cake. You do not have to worry about raw eggs. Thank You

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Reviewer:

vickilynn8511

Reviewed: Mar. 16, 2009

This is so very good, I love this cake and it's easy to put together too. It's especially great during the summer months. I also drizzled with chocolate sundae sauce to really carry out the banana split flavor, everyone loved this. I will make this again, Thanks!

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