MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - BANANA STRAWBERRY CAKE

This recipe was a great cake and we both gave it a ten out of ten.  I have been looking around for a few new recipes to make for company, also desserts. It came from Kitchen Divas hosted by Karen and Ken. You will find the original recipe here.

BANANA STRAWBERRY CAKE 

Servings: 12

Calories: approximately 443 calories per serving

1-1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed and ripe

1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cups flour 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder  

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 butter at room temperature 

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1-1/2 cups buttermilk 

1/2 to 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cups buttermilk butter, room temperature 

1 package (8 ozs.) cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners sugar

Decorations:

1/4 to 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped 

6 to 10 large fresh strawberries, sliced or diced

Instructions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Prepare your 9 x 13 inch pan with grease and flour. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine mashed bananas, cinnamon and lemon juice and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on high speed until smooth and creamy, a few minutes. Scrape down the sides of your bowl if necessary.

Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined. Add dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk.

Once thoroughly combined gently add in your mashed bananas and strawberries with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. The batter will be thick and lumpy. This is okay.

Pour your batter into your prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for about 5 or 10 minutes before dumping on to a rack to cool completely. 

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth using your mixer.

Gradually add icing sugar and beat on low to medium speed until combined.

Once icing is well blended, spread all over your completely cooled cake. 

Decorate top of iced cake with nuts and strawberries if you would like to.

Kitchen Divas note:

You will need a 13 x 9 inch CAKE pan to make this recipe. An old, regular 13 x 9 inch pan will not be deep enough. Newer 13 x 9 inch pans are all made to be at least 2-1/4 inches deep. Make sure yours is before you start, to prevent the possibility of your cake overflowing over the sides of your pan.

Freezes beautifully but don’t add the strawberry decoration until completely thawed. Add them right before serving.

This was a 10 out of 10 and we both thought it was delicious.

I have never cooked a cake at a lower temperature than 350 degrees F. but it turned out perfect at 325 and was perfectly cooked. The tip of my knife came out clean, no uncooked batter.

It was also a very moist cake.

I didn’t want any strawberries left so I probably added an extra cup.

A few changes: I had no brown sugar (I thought I had but couldn’t find it anywhere).  I replaced it with regular sugar, so 2 cups of white sugar instead of one cup. A one time thing as have now added brown sugar to the shopping list. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference.

I measured out 1-1/4 teaspoons of baking powder instead of just 1. I didn’t think it would make a difference. It didn’t but I am a little compulsive over exact measurements. 

Gregg thought this would be too rich for him with the icing. I left that off and if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t miss it.  

I also left off the decorations. Probably would add both for company.

A light dusting of confection sugar would look pretty, but there again, not necessary as this cake stood well on its own.

The Kitchen Divas said this is the cake you can freeze, so that is what I did with the rest of it. 

Husband was very happy as it’s been a very long time since I baked a cake.  I only bake them for special occasions, and I extended his birthday week!  

A small portion goes a long way!

I always recommend checking these websites out. So many good recipes on there, and they always give great tips for each one. There is a video showing the steps.

Their address is below.

https://kitchendivas.com/banana-strawberry-cake/