Best Banana Cake

You might remember not long ago that I made a banana cake to take to ECFE for my birthday dessert... It was scrumptious and I vowed to definitely make it again. Then I found this recipe and although I really liked the frosting part of the other banana cake, I couldn't resist trying this one with a HOT FUDGE FROSTING!! Seriously?? Sounds delish!! It was really yummy, but I did end up liking the other recipe a lot better... You can try them both if you want and decide for yourself... They were both super easy to throw together and tasted fabulous! Sorry, no picture!! I've gotten better about dragging my camera out everywhere we go, but obviously I forgot it when we headed to my mom's for lunch this day...

Best Banana Cake
(Recipe found on pinterest via insidebrucrewlife.com)

CAKE
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 brown bananas, smashed
FROSTING
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons hot fudge sundae topping, warmed
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, salt and vanilla and beat until creamy. Stir in the bananas. Sift the flour, cinnamon and baking soda together and add to the banana mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Place cake mixture into a greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Frost with Hot Fudge Butter Cream.

For Frosting: Cream the butter, shortening, vanilla, dash of salt and warm hot fudge until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Add the milk to thin it out slightly.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I was looking for a new recipe for a frosting that I could tint different colors. I usually go with a cream cheese frosting, but this time I wanted to shake it up a bit. I found this recipe and man, it was good!! I accidentally threw too much white chocolate chips in, but it still tasted awesome - I mean really, can you go wrong with MORE chocolate?? :) It was great tasting and easy to frost with!

My son wanted a hulk cake shaped in the form of a 9... This was on the heels of his brothers "3" cake, which was a lot easier to shape then this 9! Oh well - he was happy! :)

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(recipe found on pinterest via thebewitchinkitchen.com)

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, more if needed
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces white chocolate chips

Melt the chocolate first, using the double boiler method. Let cool to room temperature. Place softened butter in a bowl and sift the powdered sugar over top. Starting slow, mix until incorporated and then beat until fluffy, about a minute or two. After you have scraped the bowl, add the cream and vanilla. Mix again and then stir in the melted, cooled chocolate. Turn your mixer to medium-high and beat for 3-4 minutes.

Chocolate Frosting

My daughter's birthday falls in the same month as two of her cousins and since there are 21 cousins in our family, we try to combine parties as much as possible... Makes it a little easier to find time to get everyone together! :) So, when asking one of her cousins what kind of cake he would like, he told me that he wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and he wanted fighting guys on top... That was doable! I decided to go with cupcakes so that I could split up the themes a bit (since Bella is really into My Little Ponies right now) and started searching for recipes... Found a cake recipe that didn't end up thrilling me too much, but this frosting recipe was fabulous!! Too fabulous to not share. I'm still in search of the chocolate cake recipe that I love, but when I find it, I'll definitely make this frosting again...

Chocolate Frosting
(recipe found on pinterest via www.recipe.com/)

6 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted, about 4 minutes. Beat in corn syrup. Add half the powdered sugar and beat until blended (mixture will look a little grainy). Beat in milk, followed by remaining powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until smooth, adding extra 1/2 cup powdered sugar if needed. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until good spreading consistency. (Mine was spreadable right away.) Spoon frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe in swirled pattern over cupcakes. Be generous... I was afraid that I was going to run out of frosting and I ended up with a ton left over!

Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake

My oldest decided that he needed to have a birthday cake that was themed around a dirt bike. As I searched the internet for something that I could do on my own this one popped up on my screen... I thought that I could tackle it and I was excited about how it turned out!! He thought it was pretty cool too and it didn't even take as much effort as some of our other cakes have taken... plus this recipe was delicious!! We used whoppers for the rocks, pretzel rods for the course and fruit roll ups for the banners...

Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake
(dirt bike idea found here)

1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup less 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Frosting and Garnish
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powder sugar, sifted
3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Line bottoms of two 9" round cake pans with waxed paper. Grease paper and side of pans. Dust with flour. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. At low speed, alternately beat flour mixture and buttermilk into butter mixture just until blended. Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake cakes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out onto racks. Remove paper. Turn layers top side up and cool completely.

To prepare frosting, beat butter and powdered sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate and vanilla; continue beating until shiny and smooth. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread frosting on top and side of cake. Let cake stand for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Here's the frosting recipe that I promised you!! So rich and creamy and I love that touch of vanilla in with the cream cheese. If you have leftovers - a favorite snack of mine is to spread the frosting between two graham crackers and have a fabulously, if not super sweet, sandwich! :)

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 package (16 ounces) powdered sugar

In large bowl, with mixer at medium hgih speed, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Beat in powdered sugar until blended. Increase speed to medium high; beat 2 minutes or until light and creamy.

Vanilla Rich Chip Cake with Vanilla Butter Glaze

I was looking for something simple yet delicious for my son's first birthday cake. I knew the design that I was going for and just needed to make the square cakes so that I could decorate my heart away! :) I found this recipe, yet again, in my trusty old file of recipes that I have saved and saved! :) I can't believe that I haven't ever made this cake before... It was rich and delicious and YELLOW - which is my absolute favorite! I topped it with the Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting that will be coming tomorrow instead of the butter glaze... Super yum!



Vanilla Rich Chip Cake

1 package (18 1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
1 package (3 1/2 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Beat all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a large bowl with mixer on low, just until moistened. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Stir in chips. Pour into greased and floured 12 cup bundt pan. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with vanilla butter glaze.

Vanilla Butter Glaze:

Mix 3 tablespoons butter, melted, 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons water and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract until smooth. Let stand for 3 minutes or until thickened. Drizzle over cake.