This is one dessert that I have a hard time keeping my hands off of when I make it. I think I could finish it off by myself. It's essential that the bananas are fully or overly ripe and the strawberries are at the hieght of the season.
Servings: One two-layer 9-inch cake
Banana Cake
- ¾ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1⅓ cups mashed overripe bananas
- 2 cups cake flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup full-fat sour cream
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans and tap out the excess flour.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. One at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, add the eggs. Add the vanilla and bananas. Scrape down the bowl again and beat.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add half the dry ingredients to the banana batter and mix just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Add the sour cream to the batter. Add the remaining dry mixture. Mix just until the batter is evenly mixed. Add the batter to the two pans and smooth the tops.
Set the pans in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. A wooden skewer should come out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 7 minutes after baking, then set on a rack and cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 package (500 grams) confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Prepare the cream cheese frosting by mixing the cream cheese and butter on high speed until light and fluffy.
Sift in the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until evenly blended. The less mixing, the better. Cover and refrigerate the icing for 15 - 30 minutes to help it firm up.
Final Assembly
- 1 quart strawberries, washed and dried
Add a dab of icing to the center of a cake circle. Add one of the cake layers. Starting with a generous amount of icing, cover the top of the first cake layer. But everything back in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.
Remove 10 to 12 small, pretty strawberries and one large one. With the remaining berries, hull them, and cut them in thirds horizontally. Add the strawberry layers to the top of the iced cake layer. Do not overlap slices. Add the second cake layer and press down slightly so that the icing can adhere to the second cake layer. Ice the cake with the remaining cream cheese icing. Put everything back in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
Just before serving the cake, take the reserved small strawberries. Arrange the small strawberries around the edge of the cake. Take the large strawberry and make thin slices vertically from the hull to almost the stem. You should be able to fan out the slices so that the berry remains intact. Place the strawberry in the center of the cake and serve.
