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Thursday, July 11, 2013

Triple Layer Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting




Is flavor more important than presentation? I think so. This cake isn't much to look at. The flavors are mighty grand though. I'm a huge fan of peanut butter banana toast and this cake has all that flavor with a sweet decadent quality.

Most of my cookbooks are vintage. I tend to be drawn to the good old days and I like the way the books are written. Yes, the quality of the photographs in old cookbooks lack that POW factor. Still, I prefer reading them. I do own a few modern books. My mom has always sends me her back issues of Taste Of Home magazine. I thumb through the pages and ear mark a few recipes here and there. Today's recipe came from one of their cookbooks.

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

(I'm typing the recipe the way I wished all recipes were structured, when I refer back to this post I want simple un-complicated instructions. I'm taking creative liberty here.)

3/4 cup of softened butter
2 cups white sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups smashed bananas
3  cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup of buttermilk ( I did the ole add lemon juice to milk trick and made my own buttermilk)

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare three 9" cake pans.
  • In a large mixing bowl cream the softened butter and sugar until fluffy.
  • Meanwhile stir together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
  • Add eggs one at a time to the butter sugar mixture and beat well after each addition.
  • Add vanilla and bananas to the wet batter and mix well.
  • Alternating, begin adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter. Begin and end with the flour.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  
  • Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.
  • Cool completely before frosting.  
While the cake is baking, whip up this frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting
(stop eating it off the spoon because there won't be enough left for the cake)

3 tablespoons of softened butter
6 tablespoons of peanut butter
5 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
8 to 10 tablespoons of milk ( I used 8 T. but it's been raining a lot here)

Cream the butter and peanut butter together. Add the powdered sugar and use enough of the milk to make a nice spreading consistency. 

This recipe makes just enough frosting. Next time I'm going to make one and a half batches of the peanut butter frosting so I can be a little more generous on the layers.

Frost up your cake and chow down.

This cake is tender and can't be muscled around. If you are looking for a cake to slice sturdy and holds it shape in the stand up position on the plate then this cake might not be what you are looking for. However, if you put in the refrigerator and let it get nice and cold, it will give you a nice slice.  Cold cake is better anyhow.
It's a lay on it's side and then lick the frosting off the plate kind of cake.





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