Tag: cream cheese frosting
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Coop-vid Up and Going Bananas)

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Coop-vid Up and Going Bananas)

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I bought WAY TOO many bananas on my COVID reconnaissance to the grocery store last week.  Luckily, too many bananas is a happy problem.  Eat em’, freeze em’, bake em’ in a cake.

Banana Bread was out. I had just baked a loaf of banana bread from Shauna Severs’ latest book, Midwest Made.  These overripe bad boi bananas were destined for a banana cake with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. After all, calories don’t count during the time of COVID-19.  That’s right, zippo calories.

Let them eat CAKE

My favorite Banana Cake recipe comes from Clementine Bakery in Los Angeles. I found it on the blog site, Ipso Fatto (love, love, love). How good is it?  It’s our 2nd most favorite birthday cake, right after Wes’s Carrot Cake.  It’s really good.  Mui just made one and took it to another level by adding a layer of chocolate ganache in the middle and gorgeous sprinkles on the top. Just for little, OLD, me for my birthday.  Time to find another banana cake recipe to add to my evergrowing “all things banana” arsenal of recipes.  I went back to Ipso Fatto (she loves all things bananas as much as I do) and whaddya know, this popped up on her site.

Best Banana Cake I’ve Ever Had

Ever had?  That sounds like a challenge.  Game on. The recipe comes from Sally’s Baking Addiction.  It’s straightforward and comes together easily.  I made this late at night so no process pics. Classic cake instructions-cream the butter, add the sugars (in this case dark brown sugar-sweet and caramel-ly), eggs, and mashed bananas. Then alternate the dry ingredients with buttermilk (nice little tang).  Don’t worry if at various points the mixture looks curdled, it will come together as you add the dry ingredients.  The batter will be lumpy-looking but pourable at the end.  While it’s baking, start the best part of any cake, the frosting, in this case, my favorite, cream cheese frosting.

I used hubby’s cream cheese frosting recipe, I think it’s perfect but then again I am biased. Sally’s recipe calls for 3 cups of powdered sugar, while hubby’s calls for only 3/4 cup to 1 cup at most, plenty for my taste.  Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy and smooth BEFORE adding the powdered sugar.  This is key, once you add the sugar, mix just until blended and to the consistency you like.  Don’t overbeat as the sugar will break down the frosting.  You’ll end up with runny, loose frosting.  Spread the frosting on the cake and then lick the spatula-perks of being the baker.  The cake is yummy at room temperature or chilled, straight out of the fridge.

Texture-wise this cake reminds me of a snack cake, springy, with a little density, and a compact crumb. You want a tall glass of cold milk to go along.  I still like the Clementine Banana Cake more, but that’s probably my personal preference.  Clementine’s cake has a looser crumb and isn’t quite as dense, perfect for a layer cake.  But both are delicious.

That’s it folks…enjoy!

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Banana Cake (Sally's Baking Addiction)

Best Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from Sallys Baking Addiction
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 10

Ingredients

The Cake

    Dry Ingredients

    • 3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled) 375g
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt

    Wet Ingredients

    • 3 large ripe bananas about 1 and 1/2 cups mashed
    • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 170g
    • 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
    • 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar 100g
    • 3 large eggs at room temperature
    • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    • 1-1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature 360ml

    Sally's Cream Cheese Frosting

    • 8 ounces full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature 224g
    • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 115g
    • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed 360g
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 1/8 teaspoon salt

    Hubby's Cream Cheese Frosting

    • 1 brick Philadelphia Cream Cheese 8 ounces
    • 1 stick salted butter 4 ounces
    • 3/4-1 cup powdered sugar
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13 inch pan. I always use parchment on the bottom of my pan, makes it easier to remove the cake.
    • Make the cake: Mash the bananas. I use a potato masher. Set mashed bananas aside.
    • Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
    • Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bow. Add the eggs and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Always start and finish with the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. The batter will be slightly thick, a few lumps is OK.
    • Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Baking times vary, so start checking at 40 minutes. Keep an eye on it. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
    • Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. After about 45 minutes, I usually place it in the refrigerator to speed things up.
    • Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
    • Add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar (I add it). Spread the frosting on the cooled cake.
    • Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. This helps sets the frosting and makes cutting easier.
    • Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.

    Hubby's Cream Cheese Frosting

    • Beat butter to soften before adding the cream cheese, 15-30 seconds. This helps prevent lumps. Add cream cheese and beat on medium high speed until smooth, light, and creamy. Beat on high if using a handheld mixer.
    • Add vanilla and beat on medium to blend. Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed to blend in and then increase to medium speed to incorporate, at most 1 minute. Do not OVERBEAT!!! Taste the frosting, add additional 1/4 cup of sugar if you want it sweeter. If it seems a little flat, add a pinch of salt.
    • Spread on the cooled cake. For special occasions flip the cake out of the pan and frost top and sides. You may need to make a recipe and a half of frosting in that case.

    Notes

    Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare cake through step 5. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature or serve cold.
    Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can add 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a large liquid measuring cup. Then add enough regular room temperature milk (whole milk is recommended) to make 1 and 1/2 cups total. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. This soured milk can be used in the recipe instead of buttermilk.
    Cupcakes: I’ve gotten a few questions about turning this cake into cupcakes. For about 2 dozen cupcakes, fill the cupcake liners halfway and bake for about 20-22 minutes. Same oven temperature.
    Bundt Cake: You can bake this batter in a 10-12 cup bundt pan, but I find it’s not quite as moist when baked in the bundt shape. Bake for 50-65 minutes, give or take. Use a toothpick to determine doneness. Same oven temperature.
    Layer Cake: I use this recipe to make my banana layer cake. If you want to make a 2 layer cake, divide batter between 2 greased 9-inch cake pans, and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 26-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    Oh Birthday Cake, My Carrot Cake

    Oh Birthday Cake, My Carrot Cake

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    We celebrated Jeffrey and my brother’s birthdays yesterday.  Yes, they share the same birthday…many years apart.  I remember sitting on the couch dreading each new contraction while my family celebrated my brother’s birthday with big juicy rib-eye steaks off the grill.  The meal was cut short when I “exclaimed” through gritted teeth,  “I think I need to go to the hospital,  YOU (referring to my brother) will have to take your birthday cake home.”  That was twenty-two years ago. Wow, time flies.

    24 Carrot Gold Recipe

    The tradition of celebrating every birthday with Wes’s delicious carrot cake would not exist if not for a college girlfriend (his roommate’s), a classmate’s birthday, and a bag of carrots.  After finding a lone bag of carrots in their fridge, John’s girlfriend decided to bake a carrot cake for their classmate’s birthday.  Thus began the love affair between Wes and carrot cake (tough competition for me, lol).  He can’t recall the girlfriend’s name or for that matter the classmate whose birthday they celebrated.  But luckily he asked for her recipe and the rest is, as they say, is history.  Over the years he has modified it to his liking.  Out went the nuts and shredded coconut, in went dark raisins.  He doubled the luscious cream cheese frosting, you can never have too much frosting, and cut down the sugar to temper the sweetness.  This is a classic American cake; spicy, moist, sweet, peppered with pineapple and raisins and finished with a buttery sweet cream cheese frosting. YUM.

    One Bowl Babee

    That’s how simple and easy this cake is.  Wes pulls out an old tattered goldenrod Tupperware bowl (yes goldenrod, circa 1987), a whisk, and a grater to make his signature cake.  That’s about it.   Grate the carrots on the small holes of the grater. He likes a denser cake and will often throw the pineapple in without draining.  Drain the pineapple for a lighter, less dense cake. Bake the cake in a 9×13 rectangular cake, or  2-2 x 9-inch circular pans or in muffin tins to make cupcakes.  Throw some nuts in if you like, walnuts are usually the nut of choice.

    Frost, Frost Baby

    Tips for the cream cheese frosting:   Start with slightly softened butter but not warm, whip the butter first, add the cream cheese and continue to whip the two until light and creamy before adding the sugar.  Once the sugar is added, beat just long enough to fully incorporate the sugar, and then STOP.  Overbeating after adding the powdered sugar will cause the frosting to lose its structure.

    So there you have it, hubby’s two favorite recipes, Good Cookies, and Carrot Cake.  I hope you’ll try them, both are absolutely delicious.  In fact…

    I think I will go have a slice of cake right now.

    Happy Birthday, Anson and Jeffrey!

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    5 from 1 vote

    Birthday Cake, Carrot Cake

    Hubby’s carrot cake that is the fam’s cake of choice for birthday celebrations….no I’m not annoyed…not at all, lol.
    Course Cake, Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Keyword Carrot cake, Carrots, cream cheese frosting
    Prep Time 23 minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour

    Ingredients

    Cake

      Dry Ingredients:

      • 2 cups all purpose flour
      • 1 tsp baking soda
      • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
      • 1/2 tsp salt

      Wet Ingredients Part 1

      • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
      • 3 large eggs
      • 2 cups granulated sugar

      Wet Ingredients Part 2

      • 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
      • 2 cups grated carrots use small holes of grater
      • 2 tsp vanilla extract
      • 1 8 oz. Can Crushed pineapple in pineapple juice See notes
      • 1 cup Regular raisins Can sub golden raisins if you like.

      Frosting:

      • 1 stick salted butter 4oz
      • 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese
      • 3/4 cup powdered sugar sifted
      • 2 tsp vanilla extract

      Instructions

      Cake:

      • Preheat oven to 350. Rack should be in center of oven
      • Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
      • Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
      • Beat oil, eggs and sugar together in a large bowl
      • Add the dry ingredients to the oil-egg mixture along with the rest of the ingredients (wet ingredients part 2) and stir with a whisk until well mixed.
      • Pour into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.
      • Bake for 60 minutes if using the 10 inch round cake pan.
      • Bake for 25 minutes if making cupcakes.
      • Cake is done when the top is a rich golden brown, a tester should come out with just a few crumbs and relatively clean.

      Frosting:

      • Using a mixer, on medium speed beat butter until softened and slightly creamy.
      • Add cream cheese and vanilla, beat until well incorporated and mixture is light and creamy
      • Sift sugar over mixture and mix until combined and to desired consistency. Don't overbeat!
      • Use 1-1/2 recipe of frosting for 9x13 cake out of pan, single layer or cupcakes
      • For two layer cake double frosting recipe

      Notes

      For a denser cake use the pineapple without draining.  For a cakier, lighter, texture drain the pineapple before adding.  I personally like draining the pineapple, hubby has begrudgingly started to do this although he probably does leave a bit in.  Marriage is always a compromise 😉