Today is my birthday and since it falls in the middle of the week this year we decided to have my birthday dinner this past weekend. We made some pulled pork, homemade cole slaw,German potato salad and some barbecued baked beans for the meal itself. The only new recipe there is for the baked beans, which I will post tomorrow. For dessert, Michelle had asked me what kind of cake I would like. Normally, I would have selected a Black Forest cake as it is one of my all-time favorite desserts and takes some time to make so I don’t get it very often. However, I saw this cake in the last issue of Cook’s Country and knew right away that I had to try this one for my birthday. It is for a Bananas Foster Cake and just the look and the description of the cake made it sound wonderful.

Bananas Foster Cake

For the Cake:

4 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup milk, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter,cut into 16 pieces and softened

For the Filling and Frosting:

3/4 cup dark rum

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

Salt

2 tablespoons butter, chilled, plus 20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) softened

4 ripe bananas

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch or three 8-inch round cake pans, line them with parchment paper, grease the parchment and the flour pans.

Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla together in a bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt on low-speed until combined. Add the butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute.

Add half of the egg mixture, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the remaining egg mixture and beat until it is incorporated, about 30 seconds. The batter may look slightly curdled. Give the batter a final stir by hand.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake until the tops are light golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes for 8-inch pans and 20 to 25 minutes for 9-inch pans, rotating the pans halfway through the baking process. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, discarding the parchment paper, and let them cool completely on the rack, about 2 hours.

For the caramel: Cook 1/2 cup of the dark rum, the brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the spatula leaves a 2-second trail when dragged through the sauce, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the caramel from the heat. Whisk 3 tablespoons of the caramel and 2 tablespoons of the chilled butter together in a small bowl until combined; set both caramels aside and let the mixed caramel cool completely.

For the filling: Peel and cut 2 of the bananas into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Add the sliced bananas and the cinnamon to the remaining warm caramel in the skillet and stir gently to combine. Set this aside and let it cool completely.

For the frosting: Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, mix the remaining 20 tablespoons of softened butter and 1/8 teaspoon of salt on medium-low speed until it is smooth, about 10 seconds. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and continue to mix until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of dark rum and the vanilla and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute, scraping down the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip the frosting until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

To assemble the cake: Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or pedestal. Spread half of the banana filling over the cake. Top with the second cake layer and the remaining filling. Top with the final layer of cake and frost he top and the sides of the cake. Just before serving, peel and cut the remaining 2 bananas into 1/4-inch-thick slices and shingle them around the top edge of the cake. Pour the reserved caramel-butter mixture over the bananas, allowing the excess to drip down the sides of the cake. Serve.

All I can say about this cake is that it tastes amazing! If you like bananas foster, and I love it, then this is the cake for you. you get great banana flavor from the filling of the cake and the frosting is out of this world with the rum in it. The caramel just tops everything off, adding amazing texture and flavor to the whole thing. This is my new favorite cake and I would have it again and again (and I have for dessert the last few nights). The only change we made is that we did two 9-inch layers instead of the three 8-inch layers. Other than that, we followed along and did everything. You absolutely must try this cake out!

That’s all I have for today. Check back again next time for some more recipes. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!