Banana, banana, banana layer?

Hi All

I’ve finally gotten around to posting the results from my previous post Day Time Reality. I decided to make a banana layer cake, I have never been adventurous with my banana cake I just usually whip up a sponge textured cake and serve it just like that! However as I wanted to use up some of the left over ingredients I had lying in the cupboard and fridge I thought why not make a banana cake layered with cream cheese icing and banana curd? I have put a link for the banana curd recipe and didn’t bother with the topping as ahem! It didn’t come out too good. I’ve listed the ingredients for the banana cake and cream cheese icing unfortunately I work in cups grams and oz sometimes all in one recipe I think I’ve only use two here, I hope it isn’t confusing for you all?

Banana cake ingredients

3 cups of sifted plain flour

4 tbs of baking powder

Pinch of salt

4 eggs

1 tsp of cinnamon

3 medium sized bananas mashed

½ tsp of vanilla

200g unsalted butter

1 ½ cups of caster sugar

½ cup of whole milk

Cream cheese icing

2-3 cups of icing sugar

275g cream cheese

35g butter

Banana curd

Method

Make the banana curd a day in advance so it sets nicely to spread over the cake layers.

Pre-heat your over at gas mark 4 and line the bottom of two sandwich tins with grease proof paper and grease and lightly flour the edges, put to one side until ready to use. Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature. Mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl and leave to one side. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, beat your eggs in a separate bowl and fold them in gradually into the creamed butter and sugar mixture.

In another bowl beat the bananas with a fork, then gradually fold them with the vanilla into the creamed butter, sugar and egg mix. Then gradually add the mixed dry ingredients and the milk, alternating between them. Do not over mix. Spread them evenly between the two sandwich tins. Place the tins in the middle of the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

While the cake is cooking make up your cream cheese icing. Put your cream cheese in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, (you don’t have to do this, however I find it helps the icing stay thicker than having to add too much icing sugar). Beat the butter in a bowl until it is soft, mix in half the icing sugar a bit at time the start adding the cream cheese, then alternate between the cream cheese and the rest of the icing until it is all mixed together and there aren’t any lumps. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Once the cakes have come out of the oven and cooled on a wire rack, cut both cakes through the middle in half and start layering. With the bottom half spread banana curd on it, on the other half spread the cream cheese icing then sandwich them together so they are both touching. Repeat this again, by spreading banana curd on the top of the already sandwiched cake, then the cream cheese icing on the bottom of the second cake layer then sandwich together as before. Repeat again for the last layer. If you have any more cream cheese icing then spread this on top of your cake, my supposed caramel chocolate and peanut topping needs more work!

As you can see from the top picture of the final cake, it came out a bit lets use the term rustic looking! I think this due to me not flouring the sides of my cake tins, oops!) I received the results from my independent judging panel who all said the flavours all worked will together. Just need to make it look less rustic next time.

Enjoy bye for now!

PBx