Step 1: Make the cake

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep three 8″ round pans by lining the bottom with parchment paper or baking spray. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in eggs , one at a time. Beat in vanilla until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and pudding mix. Add into wet ingredients in three separate additions, mixing until just combined. Don’t over mix!

Stir in milk until combined. Divide batter and pour into 3 pans. Bake 22-25 minutes or until cake is golden and begins to pull away from sides of pans.

Allow cake to cool 15 minutes in pan. Loosen and remove from pan.

Allow to cool another 1-2 hours on a wire rack.

Step 2: Begin layering

Level each cake. Add the filling between the cakes to make a 3 layer cake. Brush outside of cake with pudding mixture. Decorate with sliced bananas only if you wish. Layer the whole cake  with Nilla wafers. and drizzle pudding over the top Refrigerate until ready to serve if you wish.