Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare your cake pans with shortening, flour and/or parchment paper.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stir together until well mixed. Add the bananas, buttermilk, shortening and vanilla and mix with a hand mixer on medium speed until everything is combined. Add the eggs and continue to beat for 2 minutes.

Step 3

Pour the cake batter into the cake pans and tap on the counter to remove air bubbles. Place the pan(s) in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Test the cake with a toothpick at 25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. My pans took 35 minutes to fully cook because they are a deep cake pan.

Step 4

Once done, remove the cake pan from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and continue cooling on the rack until fully cool.

Step 5

While the cake is baking, add the banana pudding mix and cold milk into a bowl and mix with a hand mixer for 2 minutes on medium speed. Place in refrigerator until ready to use. Most instant puddings only take about 5 minutes to set but you want to keep the pudding cold until you are ready to use it.

Step 6

Add the cream cheese and shortening to a mixing bowl and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the salt and vanilla and beat together for another minute. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until desired sweetness and consistency is achieved. Place the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to frost the cake.

Step 7

Once the cakes have fully cooled, cut the top off with a serrated knife to create a level top.

Step 8

Place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Place about half of the banana pudding in the middle of the cake and spread out with a spatula leaving about ½ inch around the edge.

Step 9

Add the next cake layer and repeat the pudding layer. Place the last layer on top, bottom side up, so you have a nice flat top to work with.

Step 10

At this point, you want to frost a crumb coat on the cake. To create a crumb coat, place a thin layer of frosting all over the entire cake and then place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. This will help eliminate crumbs in the final frosting layer.

Step 11

Remove the cake from the freezer and fully frost with the remaining frosting. You can also pipe on decoration as desired or garnish with fresh banana slices or chopped nuts. Leave the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.