Boston Banana Cream Pie-lets

I just got back from taking a road trip across the great state of Texas with my mom, aunt, sister and Hayden. My cousin's 1st birthday was last weekend and my aunt asked if I would do the honor of baking his cake. If you're following me on Facebook or Instagram you've already seen The Cat In The Hat cake I made but I will share photos and the recipe I used very soon. I had so much fun making it for him. Now I'm trying to dream up ideas for Hayden's 2nd birthday cake in 5 short weeks. 

I hoped to share this recipe with you before I left but leave it to me to wait til the last minute to try and get things done. I was working with fondant and trying to pack until the wee hours of the morning before we left. I just ran out of time. Luckily The Cake Slice Bakers are forgiving and haven't kicked me out of the group yet even though I'm a week late with my version of Boston Cream Pie-lets. 

This cake uses no butter or oil, instead you whip up heavy cream and use that as the fat in this cake. There are several steps to this recipe but they're all simple. I added sliced bananas to this recipe since it reminded me of banana cream pie. This recipe is a little different though in that you assemble the mini "pies" in custard cups instead of  having a larger round cake that needs slicing. There's lots of extra vanilla bean pudding in there too, which is never a bad thing. If you're interested in this recipe or the others The Cake Slice Bakers have made this year, check out Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson. 

Boston Banana Cream Pie-lets 

adapted from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

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Makes 8-10 servings

Cake:

• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups cold heavy cream
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 3  large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pudding:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

Ganache:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate chips

• 3-4 large bananas, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Center an oven rack and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch cake pan with foil. Do not grease the foil.

To Make The Cake: Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, then whisk the ingredients by hand to ensure they are well mixed. 

Using the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on high until soft, droopy peaks form. On medium-low speed, add the sugar in a steady stream and then return he mixer to high speed to continue to whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Return the mixer to low speed then add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Stir in he flour mixture in three parts, adding the next addition, as soon as the flour has been incorporated. Turn off the mixer before all the flour has been mixed into the batter and finish mixing by hand with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and place it into the center of the oven until the cake springs back in the middle when slightly pressed, 28 -32 minutes. Cool the cake in it's pan on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature. 

While the cake is in the oven, make the pudding. 

To Make The Pudding: With a small paring knife, split the vanilla bean in half, lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds from the pod and put them along with the pod into the saucepan. Add the milk and 1/3 cup of sugar and place the pan over medium-low heat until the milk is hot but not boiling. While the milk is heating, in a small bowl, thoroughly whisk together the yolks along with the remaining 2/3 cup sugar and the salt, then blend in the cornstarch. Slowly whisk a third of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.Cook gently over medium-low heat, whisking steadily until the pudding just begins to thicken and has been bubbling for roughly one minute (you will need to stop whisking for a moment to see if it is bubbling). Strain he mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Whisk in the butter until it is melted. 

To Make The Ganache: In a small sauce pan, bring cream to a simmer. Place the chopped chocolate or chips into a large, heat proof bowl. Add the hot cream to the bowl. Swirl the bowl to ensure even coverage of cream on the chocolate. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap for 5 minutes. Remove lid and whisk the chocolate from the middle and outwards. Start with small circles in the middle and move outwards until all the chocolate has melted. 

To Assemble The Pie-lets: Set aside 8-10 pudding cups (tea cups, juice glasses or small bowls will work just fine). Using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out 8 miniature cakes from the pan. Carefully remove the miniature cakes from the pan and using a serrated knife, cut them in half horizontally to create two equal layers per cake. Use the extra cake to snack on or make an extra pudding cup. 

Spoon 3 tablespoons of warm pudding into the bottom of each dish. Place 1 slice of cake over the pudding. Place banana slices over cake and cover with another 3 tablespoons of more pudding. Top with the second piece of cake. (Layers: pudding, cake, bananas, pudding, cake). Evenly divide the ganache over each slice of cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled for at least 4 hours. 

Going Bananas!

A couple weeks ago, I had eight black bananas sitting on my counter. The obvious choice would have been to make banana bread, but it's not my favorite thing to eat and if I'm going to consume the calories it better be something I want! When I have a couple ripe bananas to use, I usually make Strawberry Jello Salad that my husband loves so much. But I had 8. EIGHT. That's a lot of black bananas. So I turned to my peeps on Facebook (I finally joined FB- yay!) and my friends came through for me with these two recipes. 

First off, I have to tell you why I had so many dang bananas. My husband likes to eat a bowl of frozen fruit at night and he likes to add a banana to it to break up the cold. Well he was out of cherries so he quit eating the bananas. They started to turn brownish and he didn't want them anymore so he bought fresh green ones. I used up a couple in smoothies, then a couple more in peanut butter banana sandwiches, then the new bananas that he bought started to get speckles on them and he quit eating those too! At this point I was staring at bananas on the counter that got darker by the day and they started to smell. They needed to be used and I'm not a fan of freezing them. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Coffee Cake- Go HERE for the recipe. 

Allie from Eat at Allie's suggested I make muffins but that's not what I was craving at the time. I wanted something a little more indulgent so I called my banana loving friend Ingrid from 3B's. Without hesitation, she recommended a banana coffee cake with a chocolate chip streusel. Funny thing about that recipe, is that I recommended it to her over two years ago! The recipe came full circle and I made it. Danelle from Let's Dish made it too! The house smelled heavenly and it was delicious. A couple mornings later, I made Allie's banana crumb muffins to take to a friend. I saved a few for us to have for breakfast and they were equally good and simple to make. All that to say that, I now have two  new banana recipes and you do too! Enjoy my friends. 

Banana Crumb Muffins adapted from Eat at Allie's

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For The Topping: 

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

For The Muffins: 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cups*.

Make the topping: In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.

Use a fork to cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place in refrigerator until ready to use. 

Make the muffins: In large bowl, mix the mashed bananas with the sugar, egg, vanilla and melted butter. Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until just combined. 

Use an ice cream scoop to evenly disperse the batter into prepared muffin cups.

Sprinkle crumb topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

*Makes 12-14 muffins. 

If you have any great recipes to use up ripe bananas, please let me know!

Pie Party Recipes: Banana Cream Pie

Here's the Banana Cream Pie you've all been waiting for. I had to save the best for last! I think of all the pies I made for my Pie Party, this was my favorite. Though the key lime pie was a very close second. I love banana pudding, though I didn't always and I'll tell you why. I don't like artificial banana flavoring and as a kid when we had banana pudding, it was made with instant banana flavored pudding, not vanilla. I thought that was how banana pudding was supposed to be. I liked the bananas and the vanilla wafers, but not the icky banana flavored pudding.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized what banana pudding could/should be. For years I made Paula Deen's "Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding" until I started making my own custard. I like Paula's recipe, but when I eat it now I can taste all the chemicals and artificial flavors in the boxed pudding and Cool Whip. Now I don't eat banana pudding often, but when I do, I have to do it right and making it in pie form is right up my alley. I also made a banana pudding pie from Southern Living that was quite amazing. They're both similar in flavor, but this one was easier to make.

I made the crust and the filling the night before I needed it, that way on the day of, all I had to do was assemble it and make the fresh whipped cream. The custard was interesting in that all the ingredients go into the pot at once. You just stir, and stir and stir and just when you think it's never going to thicken- wham! It gets super thick. My pudding actually got a little too thick. I'm not sure if it's because of the recipe or because I overcooked it, but I just thinned it out the chilled pudding with a little milk before I assembled the pie. The end result was creamy, sweet and addicting pie. I was sad when it was all gone. My stepdad has even offered to pay me to make another one. Will do!

Banana Cream Pie from Simply Suppers

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For The Crust:

• 2 cups vanilla wafer cookies (about 1 1/4 cups crumbs)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For The Filling:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2-3 ripe bananas

For The Topping:

• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

To Make The Crust: In a food processor, finely grind the cookies. Add the sugar and pulse until combined. Slowly add the butter and pulse until well incorporated and moist clumps form. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Press the crust evenly into the bottom and up the sides. Bake until set, about 8-10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To Make The Filling: In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Over medium-low heat, cook, whisking continuously, until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding and place in the refrigerator and cool completely, at least two hours or overnight.

Assembly: Spoon half the cooled pudding evenly over the bottom of the crust. (My pudding was very thick, so I thinned it out slightly with a little milk prior to assembling the pie). Peel the bananas and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Create a layer of banana slices, reserving some for garnish. Spoon the remaining pudding evenly over the bananas. Place the pie in the refrigerator to set while making the whipped cream topping.

To Make the Topping: In the large bowl, place the cream, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form (You want the cream stiff enough to hold it's shape but not over whipped or it will curdle.) Spoon or use a pastry bag to pipe the whipped cream evenly over the pie filling. Chill the pie until set, at least 4 hours or overnight. Before serving garnish with extra vanilla wafers or bananas, if desired.

Cake Ladies Book Review and Giveaway (CLOSED)

I have another baking book up for review today! This time it's Cake Ladies by Jodi Rhoden. This book appealed to me immediately because I consider myself to be somewhat of a cake lady. "What is a cake lady?", you may be asking yourself. Everyone may have a different definition, but to me a cake lady is a woman who bakes cakes to make people happy. Sometimes they bake to make ends meet, sometimes it's a creative outlet, and sometimes it's to feel a part of a community. All the ladies in this book come from different backgrounds and have their own story, but they all believe in the healing powers of cake. They all love cake. I love cake. Do you?

Are there really healing powers in cake? In a way, I believe there is. A homebaked cake sitting on the counter makes an ordinary day better, they put smiles on faces. There's a reason they're always present at birthdays, weddings and showers. It's like a gift wrapped up in sweet buttercream and piped rosettes. Okay, enough about cake and more about the ladies who make them. This book shares the stories of 17 women- from bakery owners in Georgia to a midwife in North Carolina who bakes for the new babies she delivers to sisters in New Orleans baking vegan and sugar-free cupcakes for the community.

I read this book while soaking in a hot tub. I got so wrapped up in it that I had to rewarm the water an hour and a half later. The cakes that are shared in this book are all the prized recipes from these ladies. I chose to bake the peanut butter banana cupcakes, because I adore that combination. I really enjoy a PB and banana with honey sandwich and these cupcakes were very similar in flavor. The cupcake itself was dense and moist and the peanut butter cream cheese frosting was so light and fluffy. I also plan to make the chocolate cake on the cover- a request from Mr. H and a white layer cake slathered in lemon curd. That one is for me. Yum!

The only downside I saw in this book is that the author, Jodi Rhoden, who is a cake lady in her own right didn't share a recipe of her own. That would have been the perfect addition to this book. Otherwise it was a great read, informative and all the recipes are accompanied with full size color photos.

Peanut Butter & Banana Cupcakes from Cake Ladies

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For the Cupcakes:

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk

For the Icing:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup dried banana chips (for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

For the Cupcakes: Beat the eggs and sugars together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, stopping the mixer twice during mixing to scrape down the paddle, bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream while beating on medium low speed. Add the vanilla and beat. Add the bananas and peanut butter, mix, scrape down the bowl and beat.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a separate bowl and set aside.

With the blender on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the creamed mixture in three parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Blend just until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Add batter into each cupcake liner until two-thirds full. depending on the size of your cupcake pans, this recipe should make about 2 dozen cupcakes.

Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the Icing: Cream the butter, peanut butter and the cream cheese together in a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on low speed. Beat until the mixture is smooth and cream and no lumps remain. Add and combine the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, blending on low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the paddle, sides, and the bottom of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Beat the mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Icing the Cupcakes: When the cupcakes are completely cool, spread or pipe about 2 heaping tablespoons on the peanut butter icing on each cupcake, then garnish each one with a banana chip.

Cupcakes will keep several days covered in the refrigerator.

Want to win your very own copy of Cake Ladies?

Leave a comment on this post telling about a cake lady that you may know of, or simply tell me about your love of cake. It's that simple. One winner will be chose and the publishers will send a book out to that person. Giveaway valid in the USA only. Please leave contact info when leaving a comment.

The giveaway is closed, the winner is announced HERE.

Ripe Banana Remedy

What do you do with speckled overly ripe bananas? I'm sure many of you are thinking banana bread, right? I don't love banana bread (gasp!) so I usually toss them into fruit smoothies or make this strawberry Jell-o salad. I like bananas as a snack, but I like them firm with a little green still on them. Once they turn brown, I'm out! Usually if they're really black they get thrown away. Don't hate me banana bread lovers! I've tried freezing them with and without the peel but wasn't not a pretty site, in fact it made me dislike ripe bananas even more.

This is one recipe that I don't get tired of though and it calls for 2 overly ripe mashed bananas. Since I usually only buy 3 at a time, this works out perfectly so I can eat one and not worry about the others turning colors. And my husband loves it and requests it all the time so it's a win-win situation. I featured this Jell-O salad before on LTBG a couple years ago but it had one lone picture and it was ugly so no one ever commented. ha ha! I'm sharing it again because it really is good and I think you'd like it.

I usually make this in a Pyrex bowl, but I've made them in small clear glasses for a prettier, single-serving presentation as well. Either way you serve it, it tastes the same. The gelatin is more substantial and has body from the banana and crushed pineapple that are mixed into it. The frozen strawberries kinda break things up a bit so not everything is too smooth and baby food like. But it's the sour cream layer that I love. It's not sweetened at all but when you eat it with the strawberry Jello it almost tastes like cream cheese. I hope you'll give this one a try- it's nothing fancy, just good stuff.

Strawberry Jell-O Salad previously seen HERE

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• 1 6 oz. box strawberry jell-o
• 1 1/2 c. boiling water
• 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed without lumps
• 10-12 whole frozen strawberries
• 1 c. sour cream

In a medium bowl pour boiling water over strawberry jello. Mix til gelatin is fully dissolved. Add in crushed pineapple, and bananas. Add in strawberries and mix.

In a small bowl, stir sour cream til creamy and loosened a bit.

In a medium bowl, pour half the gelatin mixture (see note). Carefully ladle the sour cream over the jell-o, then pour the rest of the mixture over the sour cream.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

NOTE: To help the jello set up a bit quicker, I put the bowl in freezer for 5 minutes before adding the sour cream layer and the additional jello on top. This just helps keep the layers separated but it's not necessary.

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And just because I think it's funny, here's a picture of Mr. H and Autumn sharing a father/daughter moment while taking a break from varmint hunting in our backyard*.

*No animals were harmed in the making on this Jello :-)

Breaking Bread & Finlandia Cheese Winners

Once upon a time, I disliked banana bread. I mean, I ate it if it was the only thing around and I was desperate, but it was certainly not my first, second or tenth choice. ha! There's just something about concentrated banana flavor that turned me off. And artificial banana flavor, like banana taffy- double gag! But one day, Dawn of Vanilla Sugar turned that around for me. She shared a recipe on her blog that made me question my strong dislike for banana bread. Ya'll her recipe was GOOD!

The original recipe is no longer on her blog for some reason, so I can't link back to that particular post, but I'm sure you'll find lots of other yummies over there. The first time I made this banana bread, I added mini chocolate chips and it was delicious. For something different, I added cinnamon chips and topped it with cinnamon sugar before baking. When it came out of the oven it was crackly and crunchy on top and soft and moist in the inside with the added pop of melty cinnamon chips.

I doubled this recipe, made one large loaf and 4 smaller loaves to share with the neighbors. My thought was to try to make friends with the neighbors that we didn't know so well and really I don't think any of them really gave a flip. But at least I made the effort, which is more than I can say for them! Anyway, despite the lack of enthusiasm from my neighbors, I think you should make this bread. Don't feel compelled to add anything to this bread, it's just as delicious plain, but chopped nuts or a caramel swirl wouldn't hurt anything either. Trust me, this banana bread is perfection.

Cinnamon Chip Banana Bread adapted from Mama Dip and HERE

Printer Friendly Version

• 1/2 cup shortening (not butter*)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 3 tbsp. sour cream
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon sugar for topping, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a spoon, cream shortening and sugar together. Beat in eggs one at a time; then add mashed bananas, sour cream, and lemon juice.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, then fold in cinnamon chips.

Pour into greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan. Sprinkle with about 2 Tablespoons (use as much or as little as you want). Bake for 60 minutes.

NOTE: If your bread is getting too dark, loosely cover bread with foil. I did this for the last 15 minutes of baking time.

*Don't be tempted to use butter instead of shortening in this banana bread. It's what makes this recipe different.

_______________________________________________

Oh and for the winners of the Finlandia Cheese giveaway...

#23 Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod

and

#31 Leeann from Join The Gossip

Congrats ladies! Please email me with your addresses so I can send out your coupons for free Finlandia cheese!

Sam's 4th Birthday Cupcakes

I baked these cupcakes for my son's 4th birthday last month. I've mentioned before that I have 2 sons, but they aren't with me. I don't talk about them on here a whole lot because this blog is a cheerful place and I use it to share photos and recipes, not to talk about my personal life. Just thinking about my boys makes my heart sing and I am so proud to be their mother, but the fact that they died is sad and I understand why others wouldn't want to read about them all the time. I love Sam and Jack with all my heart but I don't want to be a downer so when I want to talk about them and their memory I talk about them on my other blog. Still, today I needed to talk about my first born, Sam, so I hope you'll stick around for a bit. I don't write about them so you'll feel sorry for me, I write about them because they are my children.

On August 15th, my Sam would have been 4 years old. It seems like just yesterday he was born and other times it seems that this has been my reality for an eternity. Both Sam and Jack were born still in the second trimester 6 months apart. I have a weak cervix and it gave out under the weight of the babies, which caused them to be born early. They were fully formed babies, just too little to live outside the womb. I never got to bring them home, sing them lullabies or nurse their wounds, but I can parent them the only way I know how. One of my jobs as their mother is to make their birthdays special.

This year for Sam's birthday, the in-laws came over, we went to dinner and we had a balloon release. I also made these hummingbird cupcakes with mascarpone frosting. I wanted something that a 4 year old would actually eat and enjoy so I went for a moist fruit filled cupcake and a light and fluffy, but not too sweet frosting. I've made Hummingbird Cake before, but I didn't want too much cake leftover so I halved the recipe and baked them into cupcakes. I have to thank Maranda for reminding me how good this cake is. It's not too dense, but it is a substantial cake. It's sweet from the crushed pineapple and mashed bananas so I opted for a fluffy mascarpone mousse-like frosting rather than cream cheese icing. The combination really was nice and I can only hope that Sam would have liked them as much as we did.

Hummingbird Cupcakes adapted from Paula Deen

Printer Friendly Version

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 very ripe large banana, mashed
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 15 cupcake indentions with liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, oil, pecans, bananas, pineapple, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs. Stir well with a spoon until the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter evenly amongst 15 lined cupcake indentions, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until the tops spring back and are golden. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes then remove and place on a wire rack til completely cool.

Makes about 15 cupcakes.

Mascarpone Frosting from JustJENN Recipes

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a medium bowl combine mascarpone cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir together until smooth, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form – don’t overdo it, the last thing you want is for it to curdle.

Fold the whipped cream, into the mascarpone mixture until combined.

Pipe or spoon a generous amount onto cooled cupcake.

Makes enough to generously frost about 18-20 cupcakes.

NOTE: I used pecan halves and candied pineapple for garnish.

Happy birthday my sweet boy!

Going Bananas!

I'm still a little sick so I haven't been baking or cooking much this past week. I am doing and feeling better but I'm not running on all fours yet. I have a nagging cough that won't quit and I'm still pretty congested. I've been self medicating myself with little pills in all shades of the rainbow and drinking a few elixirs including but not limited to the all wonderful Alka-Seltzer Cough & Cold! And that is my excuse for the lackluster photos of this cake. blah.

The good thing is that I've regained my sense of smell, which means I've also regained my sense of taste! We've eaten nothing but sandwiches, soup and breakfast type foods for the last week. Luckily we went to my mom's last night where Mr. H and I had a real meal with the family. Thank you Mom! And I baked dessert--no surprise there :-)

I baked this supremely moist banana cake with a chocolate glaze from Southern Cakes. It was this month's choice for The Cake Slice Bakers and it was delicious! I'm not really into baked desserts with bananas so I wasn't that excited about this one but it proved to be a favorite by my family. It was supposed to be a layer cake but I wanted to bake it into my new silicone pan. I found it this weekend at a discount store and couldn't pass up the great price. It's made by KitchenAid and is called the Fancy Flute. I've never baked a cake in silicone but it turned out great.

The cake was really good and very moist and tender despite me being short on the amount of bananas called for in the recipe. In place of the missing bananas I added a little apple sauce. The batter was simple to mix up and it was in the oven in no time. Since I chose to bake it in my new Bundt type pan, I didn't want to frost it and cover up all the pretty detail. So I quartered the recipe and thinned it out enough to pour it onto the cake, like a glaze. Unfortunately it didn't set up like a glaze and stayed wet like a frosting should. It was super tasty though- like thick and creamy chocolate milk. So good! I would like to make this again though as the recipe was suggested with the full amount of bananas and frosting. mmm!

Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting

from Southern Cakes

Printable Version

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
• 1½ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1½ cups mashed ripe banana

Chocolate Frosting

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-an-half
• 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the cake, heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally until you have a smooth batter.

Using a large spoon, stir in half the flour just until it disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk and then the remaining flour the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed banana and then divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.

Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the centre, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks. Then turn out onto the racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the butter, cocoa and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark shiny essence. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a thick smooth frosting.

To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down, on a cake plate and spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly over the top. Cover with the second layer placed top side up. Spread the rest of the frosting evenly first over the sides and then covering the top of the cake.

NOTE: For a bundt/tube cake bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes.

In other banana related news (ha ha!) I made a banana pudding pie for my grandpa's belated birthday. They were in town this week to visit my cousin and I knew he would love this. And he did! Isn't he the cutest? Love you Grandpa!