Happy Easter everyone! In honor of Easter, we came up with this wonderful cake recipe! This is a banana cream-filled yellow cake, topped with whipped cream frosting and rainbow sprinkles. This is based on a recipe for banana cream pie cupcakes that I've made quite a few times. I used to make the cupcakes with boxed yellow cake and buttercream frosting, but I thought it was time to upgrade.
I spent some time developing a recipe for yellow cake. The cake I came up with is not too light, but not too dense. It's a flavorful, balanced recipe that should be good for cakes or cupcakes. Reducing the amount of egg in the recipe (you could remove one whole egg and add a touch of milk) would make it a little bit lighter. Adding another egg yolk, and maybe some sugar, would make it a bit heavier.
The filling is definitely the star here—it's based on a recipe from Tidy Mom. I reduced the sugar slightly and added more banana. It's very important to use ripe bananas. If they aren't very ripe, you'll need to add more sugar to the mix. Just taste it as you go to figure out if it's necessary. There's nothing that can't be eaten raw in this part of the recipe. The result is a smooth, creamy, super banana-y filling. When it cools, it's thick and firm, perfect for filling a cake or cupcakes.
Like I mentioned before, I used to make this using buttercream frosting. I would highly recommend going with whipped cream frosting instead. It's much lighter and complements the banana flavors perfectly. We were in love with this cake when we ate it. If you want chocolate frosting, you could always add some cocoa powder to the mix (maybe a half cup).
To finish, there are a lot of options. We just went with rainbow sprinkles, but you could certainly top with candied walnuts or chocolate shavings instead. Lightly sprinkling some cinnamon over the top would also be a good option. Enjoy!
Banana Cream Cake
Makes: 16 servings
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
For the yellow cake
2 cups (240 grams) cake flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
¾ cups whole milk
For the filling
2 ripened bananas
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
¼ cup corn starch
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
For the icing
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Start on the cake first. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter together with the sugar on medium-high speed until smooth. Then add the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time.
4. Add the flour mixture and milk in several batches. Wait until the ingredients are incorporated before adding the next batch. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl before each addition.
5. Split the batter between two well-greased 9-inch cake rounds, then place in oven. Bake for about 25 minutes, then remove from oven and place pans on cooling rack. After another 25 minutes, remove the cake from the cake rounds and cool upside down on the cooling rack.
6. While the cake is baking, make the banana cream filling. Place all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. In a medium saucepan, heat over medium heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. Cool in refrigerator (stir occasionally to assist in cooling).
7. After everything has cooled, assemble the cake. Place one of the layers, flat side down, on a plate or cake stand. Spread a thick layer of the banana cream filling over the top surface of the layer.
8. Place the second layer, round side down, on top of the first and gently press down to make sure it sticks. Fill in any gaps on the side with more banana cream.
9. Make the whipped cream frosting immediately before icing. Whisk all of the ingredients together, then beat with a hand mixer, on high speed, until stiff peaks form.
10. Frost the cake with the whipped cream frosting. Garnish with sprinkles, chocolate shavings, or candied walnuts.