Perfectly Easy Vanilla Pudding Cake (2024)

Vanilla pudding bundt cake has a warm, sweet flavor and a perfectly moist crumb, thanks to the addition of instant pudding to a box of cake mix.

Vanilla pudding cake is moist and tender and tastes bakery fresh thanks to a few simple shortcuts and a well-stocked pantry.

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I’ve always been a chocolate girl. In fact, I have more than ten different chocolate cake recipes on this site!

But I have to admit…if a slice of this decadent and moist vanilla cake made with a cake mix were placed beside a slice of chocolate cake, I’d have a really tough decision to make!

That’s because this vanilla pudding bundt cake has a warm, sweet, rounded flavor that’s comforting but not overly rich.

It’s a delicious cake on its own, but also pairs well with fresh fruits or a dollop of whipped cream.

And of course, if you truly must appease the chocolate lovers, you can always drizzle the top with a bit of chocolate cream cheese icing.

Using a box mix makes this vanilla cake a cinch to throw together. It’s as tasty as my made-from-scratch vanilla mayonnaise cake with half the work.

The addition of instant pudding makes it incredibly moist. I love adding pudding mixes to produce a tender, moist cake with extra flavor, too!

No matter how you serve it, it’s sure to be a winner–and may even win over a few die-hard chocolate fans, too! 🙂

More Fabulous Cakes Made with a Cake Mix:

• Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
• Easiest Lemon Cake
• Southern Apricot Nectar Cake
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Easy Vanilla Cake Made With Vanilla Pudding

Even when you use a box mix, homemade cakes never seem to taste like a bakery-style cake. If you want a moist, dense cake with distinct vanilla flavor, the proof is in the pudding. Literally.

Adding a powdered instant pudding mix to a cake batter is the perfect way to doctor a cake mix to get that bakery flavor and texture.

It’s not as dense as a pound cake, but is the perfect crowd-pleasing delicious dessert.

I always stock up on cake mixes and instant pudding when they go on sale.

That way, I’m always ready to mix up a luscious cake by combining the mixes and adding a few pantry staples.

It’s a quick and inexpensive way to make an easy cake that tastes like it came from a bakery.

How to Make Vanilla Pudding Cake

It’s really easy to make this moist vanilla cake.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• French Vanilla Cake Mix
• Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
• Eggs
• Warm Water
• Vegetable Oil
• Sour cream
• Vanilla extract
• Powdered Sugar (optional)

How to Make It:

(Full printable recipe card is available below)

Prepare the equipment. First, you’ll grease a bundt pan well and preheat the oven to 325F.

Mix the batter. Next, you’ll combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Mix on low to medium speed for about 30 seconds to combine, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat for about 2 minutes.

Bake the cake. Then, you’ll pour batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Garnish and serve. Last, you’ll remove cake from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Gently slide a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake, then invert cake pan onto a plate.

Cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar if desired and serve. If you’d like, add some fresh berries and Cool Whip, or a scoop of ice cream!

Notes and Adaptations:

• If you can’t find french vanilla cake mix, regular vanilla boxed cake mix will work fine as well. You can even use plain yellow cake mix, for a slightly different flavor.
• You can use instant vanilla pudding mix or instant french vanilla pudding mix, depending on what you can find.
• If you’d like a cream cheese icing to drizzle on the cake, you can beat together 4 oz softened cream cheese, 2 TBSP softened butter, and 1 cup powdered sugar. Then mix in up to 6 TBSP milk until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over warm cake.
• If you’d like a lemon glaze to brush onto the cake, whisk together 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 TBSP fresh lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. Drizzle over or brush onto a warm cake and let it soak into the cake.
• Leftovers can be stored, covered, at room temperature.

Be sure to save this to your favorite dessert board on Pinterest!