Banana Cake

Banana Cake

Allen's birthday was over a week ago and we took a 3 day getaway to Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, so I did not have a chance to bake him a cake. While we were away I asked Allen what kind of cake he wanted and he said Banana Cake. I promised I would bake him one and then a few days later, I found a Banana Cake recipe and baked it yesterday. I would have baked the cake last weekend, but the bananas were green and had to ripen. Bananas can take up to a week to ripen but I put 4 bananas in a paper bag to speed up the process, and they were finally ready to use today. Good thing I was off work today for the July 4th holiday.

Allen's birthday desserts; Palace Court Buffet, Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino

Our beautiful ocean view room in Caesars Centurion Tower, 39th Floor; camera zoomed in

Here is Allen's belated birthday cake and it is so yummy! If you love bananas, you will devour this cake. It is that good! The cake is dense, has a perfect texture and is moist. The frosting is whipped cream cheese frosting and it is so creamy and delightful. I only frosted the top of the cake and added lots of pretty sprinkles, and then added some frosting in the center, and a little on the sides to create a naked cake look. We have a massive heat wave with high humidity this week with real feel temps up to 110 degrees, and sadly my bedroom and living room air conditioners in our apartment do not reach the kitchen. It was so hot I had to add the frosting to the cooled cake real quick, put it in a cake safe, and get it in the fridge or else it would start melting. I let the cake set for 5 hours before serving. The wait was well worth it. This recipe yields enough batter for a 9-inch 2 layer cake. See recipe and instructions below.

Banana Cake

Cake Ingredients
3 cups All Purpose Flour (King Arthur)

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Coarse/Kosher Salt

½ cup, 1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened (room temperature)

1 cup Granulated Sugar

½ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

4 Medium Ripe Bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil, divided

1 ½ cups Buttermilk

3 Large Eggs

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Naked cake look for the sides

Directions
I use Wilton Bake Easy Non-Stick Spray to grease 2 9-inch round cake pans. Spray and line with parchment paper and spray over it and along the sides of the pans. You can also coat the pans with butter and flour.

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Place the peeled ripe bananas in a large bowl, add lemon juice and mash with a masher or fork.

Cake topped with sprinkles I mixed together

With a stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, mix butter, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and sugars until creamy and fluffy; about 2-3 minutes.

Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add eggs one at a time, mixing well.

Add vanilla extract and mashed bananas and mix just until incorporated.

On low speed, add in some of the flour mixture and combine and then add some of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Do this three times ending with the flour mixture.

Scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.

Mix again for 10 to 20 seconds.

Banana Cake slice

Spread cake batter evenly between the 2 pans using a spatula to smooth tops.

Lightly tap the pans against the counter top 2 to 4 times to settle the batter.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on your oven so keep an eye on it. My cake baked in 42 minutes.

Cake is ready when you insert a toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake and it comes out clean.

Cool cake in pans for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake and then flip cakes onto wire racks lined with parchment paper to prevent cake from sticking on it.

Cool completely before frosting.

Before frosting the cake, cover it with plastic wrap and chill in fridge 1-2 hours or overnight.

Allen's birthday slice

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Heavy Cream

14 oz. Cream Cheese (Philadelphia), room temperature

1/3 cup Unsalted Butter, softened

1 3/4 cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Banana Cake

Directions
Using a stand or hand held mixer, mix heavy cream on high speed for several minutes until stiff peaks form; about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside.

With mixer on medium-high speed, add the cream cheese and butter, and mix until smooth and fluffy; about 2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix again for 10-20 seconds.

Pic of some of the ripened bananas

With mixer on medium speed, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated; about 2 minutes.

Turn off mixer and add half of the whipped cream mixture and fold in with spatula until incorporated.

Fold in the remaining half and if you wish, add food coloring at this time. I used Wilton Icing Color Concentrated Gel in Sky Blue.

Smashed bananas

Use by dipping toothpick in gel and then into frosting and stir gently with spatula. Each time, use a clean toothpick so frosting does not get into gel color. Repeat until you reach the color you desire.

Take the chilled cake out of the fridge, line edges of cake platter or cake circle (Wilton 10-inch) with strips of parchment paper to keep edges clean as you frost the cake.

If your cake has a dome use a serrated knife and slice off the tops to make an even layer. My cake baked with flat tops.

I first line the cake turntable with a grip liner so the cake does not move as you frost it.

Cakes cooling on wire racks lined with parchment paper

Add a dab of frosting over the grip liner and place the cake circle over it and press gently to adhere.

Place one of the cakes top side down onto the cake circle and then onto the cake turntable.

If you do not have a cake circle take cardboard and cut a 10 inch circle and cover it with aluminum foil.

Sprinkles mix I added blue sanding sugar and blue sugar pearls after I took the pic

If you do not own a cake turntable use a large cake platter.

Place the whipped cream cheese frosting over the first layer and then frost as desired.

I decorated the top of the cake with Wilton Blue Sugar Pearls, Wilton Blue Sanding Sugar, Wilton Confetti, and White Stars I mixed together.

Cake turntable lined with grip liner with a dab of frosting over it and topped with cake circle

Place cake in cake safe and let it set in the fridge for at least 2 hours (I let it set for 5 hours), and bring to room temperature for 1/2 hour before serving.

You can make the cake a day ahead and refrigerated overnight as well, and bring to room temperature for 1/2 hour before serving.

For the Banana Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting visit:
https://www.cookingclassy.com/banana-cake-with-whipped-cream-cheese-frosting/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys