Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a moist, delicious Banana Layer Cake that is perfect for any occasion. It is somewhat less dense than my banana bread recipe, but it's very moist and yummy with the decadent Cream Cheese Frosting. I made this wonderful cake for my husbands birthday back in January. I didn't get many pictures of the finished cake, but that seems to happen every time I prepare a meal for our family gatherings. Too busy for photos, and then the food is gone. Sigh~
I've posted this recipe before, but made a sheet cake instead of a layer cake. It is one of our favorite cakes now and is a perfect way to use those ripe bananas and turn them into a fabulous dessert.
I feel the need to apologize for not being around for almost 2 months. I've had some health issues, ( I'll share at a later time), and some life issues that we all sometimes go through, and I lost focus on my blog. But I'm cooking again and ready to share. So I hope you'll give this Banana Layer Cake a try for your next celebration. It's so very, very good. Like, lick your plate good!

Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Evil Shananigans

Cake:
1 cup mashed bananas - about 2 large bananas
1 cup buttermilk, or can use soured milk (add 1 tablespoon vinegar to a cup and fill up with milk; let sit a minute)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened- 1/2 cup
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, (or if you are using dark pans, then 325). Grease 2 9 inch round layer cake pans.
2. In a bowl, mash the bananas well using a fork. Stir in the buttermilk.
3. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in separate bowl.
4. Cream Butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
5. Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients into the butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Pour the batter evenly into the 2 prepared cake pans.
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Or you may test with a toothpick. Cool cake in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto cooling racks and let cool completely. At this point, you can frost the cake, or wrap each layer well in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. Then assemble and frost the next day.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
31/2-4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together with a mixer.
mix in the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar in about 3 additions, mixing well after each addition. If the frosting seems too stiff, you may add a tablespoon of cream or milk and mix until creamy.

To frost the cake: 
Place one cake layer on cake platter. Add about 3/4 to 1 cup of frosting on the cake and spread evenly to the edge. Top with the remaining cake layer and press cake gently down. Add remaining frosting to top and smooth down and around the sides. I usually swirl the top of the frosting with a knife. I like to refrigerate the cake for 30-60 minutes to set the frosting well.
Slice, serve and enjoy!

Fruit Pizza

 What's not to love about Fruit Pizza? There's a huge sugar cookie topped with creamy filling and fresh fruit and berries and a yummy glaze over all. I don't know when it first began showing up in kitchens in America, but it was given to me in the mid 1980's by a friends mother. She brought it to a church dinner and it was an instant hit. Most recipes call for purchased cookie dough, and mine did as well. But I soon decided to use one of my sugar cookie recipes instead, because it would work with a larger pan. This recipe is very popular around this area for family gatherings and pot luck dinners. It is usually the first dessert to go. I love that you can use just about any fruit or berry. My recipe has a cooked citrus glaze which not only adds a bit of sheen to the fruit, but it also keeps some fruits from turning brown. I almost always include bananas in my Fruit Pizza, and have not had a problem with them browning. But I don't think I've ever had this dessert longer than 2 days, so I don't know how much longer bananas would last. One of my favorite combinations is strawberry and Kiwis, along with bananas. This time I got a little patriotic with blueberries and strawberries. It was so yummy!

 I use my own cookie recipe and spread it evenly over the pan. I use a Baker's Half Sheet, about 17 inches by 13 inches. I just dot the pan with dough and smooth it out with my fingers. It doesn't have to look fancy, just get it to all the sides and corners. Bake for 12 minutes and cool. Then comes the cream cheese filling, then a layer of fruit, and lastly the glaze. The citrus glaze adds flavor, helps set the fruit, and helps prevent browning. I think the glaze also dresses this dessert up some. Think of Fruit Pizza as a large tart.

 I like adding lots of fruit and berries, placing them closely together. You  can do a design with the fruit or just place it randomly. It will taste fantastic either way! Use whatever fruit or berries are available. I've used strawberries, Kiwi, apples, bananas, blueberries, oranges, etc. Here's how I make Fruit Pizza. You can use your own sugar cookie recipe if preferred.

Fruit Pizza
Recipe from Lynda's Recipe Box and friend

Sugar Cookie Recipe
3/4 cup shortening, or you can use soft butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream shortening and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Spread all the dough into a Half sheet baking sheet(about 17x13 in.). Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 12 minutes. Cookie dough may not look done, but it will set up as it cools; don't over bake or it will be too hard. Cool completely.

While cookie bakes, make the citrus glaze.
Glaze:
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Heat juices in a saucepan.. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to the hot juices. Stir continuously and cook until thick and clear, about 1-2 minutes. Cool. Glaze can be luke-warm when used, but if it thickens too much when you try to glaze the Fruit Pizza, just warm it a little and stir and it should be easy to brush.

Make filling while the cookie and glaze cool.
Filling:
1 1/2 bars, (12 ounces) 0f room temperature cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.
(Note: If you want a thicker filling, use 16 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. )

To Assemble Fruit Pizza:
Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the cooled cookie. Arrange fruit and berries over the filling, pressing in slightly just to set.
(I used about 1 quart of strawberries, halved, and almost 1 quart of blueberries, and 2-3 (I can't remember!), large bananas for this pizza.
Use a pastry brush to spread the citrus glaze. Topping the blueberries was a bit tricky, so I ended up dolloping the glaze on and spreading it gently.  The glaze needs to set before you cover the Fruit Pizza, so place in the refrigerator to chill, and cover in about an hour. Keep chilled until ready to serve. Enjoy!

NOTE: The cookie  layer can be baked a day ahead, if desired, and kept covered with foil until ready to assemble.

Very Moist Bannana Bread with Walnuts

I cannot resist a big slice of Banana Bread, especially if it's moist and full of crunchy nuts. This is my Mother-in-laws delicious recipe. She preferred using Black Walnuts in it when she could find them and insisted that walnuts added to the moistness of this bread. While black walnut trees are common here, I preferr the english walnut, but either will work in this recipe. All I know is that this Banana Bread is delicious and I have a hard time stopping with one slice. I have already posted my Mothers recipe, but I wanted to add this one too, since I'm going through our family's recipes. This moist, sweet quick bread makes a large loaf. My MIL baked this bread in a 8x8 inch baking pan, but I used a loaf pan this time, which took about an hour and 20 minutes. Either way, I think you will enjoy it.
By the way, thank you for the well wishes-I am feeling much better and can finally taste food again. Eating is much more enjoyable when the food tastes good; now on to the Banana Bread!
Moist Banana Bread with Walnuts

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas, about 3 large
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla- I omit this
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cups chopped walnuts (or any nut of your choice)

Directions:
Grease and flour a large, 9 5/8 x 5 1/2 inch loaf pan, or a 8x8 inch cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for dark pans).
Mix the mashed bananas, melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in a large bowl. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Mix dry ingredients and the buttermilk into the banana mixture. Pour batter into the prepared pan and place in oven. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely before serving. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Enjoy!

Banana Pudding

Banana Pudding brings a smile to my face and fond memories of childhood. I remember the boxed banana pudding and always loved it. In later years, I've had Banana Pudding at lots of church dinners and funeral meals. It's a classic favorite around these parts!
I found this smooth, creamy recipe at Epicurious a few days ago and thought it sounded good and it had good reviews. It takes very little time to make, but needs to be refrigerated about 4 hours before eating. The recipe calls for banana liqueur or banana extract, and I couldn't find either one. So I just used vanilla and mixed the bananas in with the pudding so the banana flavor still came through just fine. My daughter didn't care for the topping, but my husband and I LOVED this pudding with this cinammony, crunchy topping! The pudding is smooth and silky and the crushed topping is the crowning touch. Vanilla wafers are crushed and baked with cinnamon and make this pudding a very special, addictive treat. You gotta try this!

BANANA PUDDING
from Epicurious, and the cookbook DamGoodSweets-Sweets to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style

5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons banana liqueur, or 1 teaspoon banana flavoring-I didn't use this
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas

In a medium bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt together until creamy. It will be stiff at first and then begin to get more liquefied. Heat the milk in a sauce pan over medium heat until it begins to boil. Small bubbles will appear at the surface and the milk is ready. Begin whisking the egg yolk mixture, and then pour in a small amount of hot milk and continue whisking. Add another small amount of milk and whisk the whole time to keep it from curdling. Continue this process until all the hot milk is incorporated into the egg yolk mixture. Wash the saucepan, then pour the pudding back into the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking the whole time. Using a spoon be sure to stir in the corners of the pan as this pudding will thicken there and cause lumps. This pudding cooks quickly! When done, pour the pudding into a clean bowl and stir in the butter, vanilla and banana flavoring. Lay plastic wrap right on the surface of the pudding to keep it from forming a skin. Refrigerate 4 hours before serving. To serve, cut up bananas in 4 serving dishes, top with banana pudding and then some of the crumbs. Then enjoy this cool additive treat and wish you had made more!

TOPPING
1 cup, about 15, vanilla wafers
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar- I only used 1 teaspoon and it was plenty
a pinch of salt
Coarsely crush the cookies in a bag with a rolling pin. In a bowl mix the crumbs, cinnamon, sugar and salt together. Stir in the butter and bake on a baking sheet for 6 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from pan and cool. Sprinkle over pudding before serving. We love this crisp topping; it really raises Banana Pudding to another level!

NOTE: I did have trouble with a few lumps. The pudding cooked so quickly and it got very thick in the corners of the pan. So stir continuously.

My Mother's Banana Bread - for Family Recipes

When I was small, one of my favorite food memories was my Mother's Banana Bread. I loved the aroma as it baked, loved the golden crust as it came out of the oven and I loved the taste of the soft, moist banana bread and crunchy pecans. It was a special day when Mom baked this bread. After the bread cooled, Mom wrapped it carefully in foil and placed it the the cabinet where it was supposed to set until the next day. She wouldn't let us have a bite! I admit, the bread is moister the day after it is baked, so I guess that was Mom's reasoning. I have to admit though, that more than once I climbed up to the cabinet and got into the Banana Bread! I was such a brat! I am submitting this recipe to Shelby at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honey Bunch, for January's roundup of Family Recipes: Memories of Family, Food and Fun. This event is hosted by Shelby and Laura, from The Spiced Life, and myself. Hope you enjoy!

MY MOTHER'S BANANA BREAD

3/4 cup sugar
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup shortening (or unsalted butter)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mash the bananas; add in the shortening, eggs and sugar and mix well. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and pecans until just mixed. Pour batter in a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in bread comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then invert banana bread onto the rack to finish cooling. Wrapped tightly in foil or plastic wrap. Or, slice and enjoy a big piece of scrumptious Banana with a cup of coffee or tea! Have a great week, my friends.

Bananas and Cream Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Glaze

There's just nothing like the aroma of banana bread baking in the oven. It has tantalized me since I was a little girl, so when I found this recipe a few months ago, I had to make it! It is everything I hoped it would be; dense, moist with sour cream, great banana flavor, and the frosting- oh the frosting! It is sinfully rich, delicious and I wanted to eat it with a spoon! I found this gem of a recipe at Bunny's Warm Oven, so please check it out. Her cake looks much nicer than mine as I almost let the frosting get too thick to drizzle over the cake, but that didn't stop it from tasting amazing! And I wanted to share this with you before I leave Thursday to go on a

retreat with some friends from church. I'll be gone until Saturday evening and I'm so looking forward to it. We're going to the lake for a few days of refreshing for body and spirit with several hundred other ladies of kindred spirit. And we are always served the best meals. As much as I love to cook, I always enjoy letting someone else do it for awhile!

So, if you need a dessert for this weekend, try this wonderful Banana Cake, or even my Four Layer Pudding Dessert. I look forward to reading all your recipes when I get back. Have a great week!

Black-Bottom Banana Bars

There is one flavor that my whole family loves, and that's banana. In a family of 5, finding a food that everyone loves can be rare. Banana desserts are at the top of everyones list, so when the bananas start to turn I can be sure that what I make will be devoured! These Black-Bottom Banana Bars are deliciously moist and have a wonderful texture, somewhat lighter than banana bread. And, of course, the fact that the bottom half is chocolate is a huge plus! This recipe comes from an older Taste of Home magazine, but it is also on their website. I made no changes, other than I used 4 bananas instead of 3, and I didn't swirl the dough, but they taste the same either way. These bars are very addictive and will disappear quickly!

BLACK-BOTTOM BANANA BARS ( from Taste of Home)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas, 3-4
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp.baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar and add the egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Mix in the mashed bananas. In another bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder and salt.Add to the banana mixture and mix well. Divide the batter in half and add the cocoa to 1 half of the batter. Spread the chocolate batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Spoon remaining batter on top and swirl with a knife, if desired. I just spread it out some. Bake in a preheated, 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the bars test done. Remove from oven and cool. These delicious bars get incredibly moist and are perfect for any banana lovers that you know. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Carrot- Banana Bread

Who doesn't love a good piece of Banana Bread? Do we need another recipe for Banana Bread? Probably not, but don't we enjoy trying something just a little bit different? I sure do, so that's why I decided to try this bread after sorting through a stack of "must try" recipes the other day. It has been cut out of some forgotten magazine, so I can't give a proper source for this yummy Whole Wheat Carrot- Banana Bread. I eagerly got all the ingredients out, turned on the oven, and then read the recipe again and discovered that I didn't have the proper sized pans! It called for 7&1/2in. x3&3/4in. pans, which was smaller than the regular bread loaf pans that I have. I toyed with just pouring all the dough into 1 pan, as it could work, maybe. But I had a recollection from my early married years of the first time I made my Mother-in-Laws homemade dinner rolls, and she assumed that I knew that it would take two pans for the whole recipe, but in fact, I didn't know that! I had dough oozing out of my pan and wrapping around the racks of the oven and creating quite a mess for me to clean up! So, I decided to play this safe, especially since I wanted to take pictures, and used 2 larger pans. The loaves are not as high as I would like, but at least they didn't flow over the sides of the pans, leaving me with a mess. An added bonus was that the loaves took less time to bake! So here's what you will need:

Whole Wheat Carrot-Banana Bread

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar ( the recipe calls for brown sugar, but I used 1/2 white and 1/2 brown)

2 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp.cinnamon

1 cup ripe, mashed bananas

1 cup finely shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to350 degrees. Grease 2 7&1/2 in. loaf pans. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. In another bowl combine flours, soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients and mashed bananas alternately to butter mixture, stirring after each addition. Fold in shredded carrots and nuts. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool in pans for about 15 minutes and then remove bread from pans to finish cooling on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves. In my larger pans, it took about 25 minutes to bake.

This bread is moist and yummy with a little different texture than the other recipe that I use. However, my husband doesn't like it as well as my old standby. He thinks it's a bit dry. It does have a more crumbly texture due to the whole wheat flour, but I do not find it dry. So, 1 bread, 2 opinions. I guess that if I make it again, I'll take it to a ladies brunch, or some other activity! Have you ever baked something and loved it only to have your husband or someone else not like it?