Easy - for beginners
Description
Kienows sold the BEST banana cake, and then they went out of business. Here's the recipe for that cake.
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 2 cups sifted cake flour (not all-purpose flour)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup corn oil (corn oil produces a better texture)
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 large or 3 medium)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon artificial vanilla (better texture if you use combination of real and artificial, but use all real vanilla if you want)
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 egg yolks
- Meringue:
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Whipped cream filling and frosting:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Also for filling:
- 2 medium bananas or 1 large, sliced thin
Method
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
To make cake:
- In a large bowl, sift together sifted cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
- Add corn oil, mashed bananas and both kinds of vanilla. Beat 1 minute with electric mixer.
- Add buttermilk and egg yolks and beat another minute.
To make meringue:
- In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, beat egg whites lightly.
- Add cream of tartar and, while continuing to beat, add sugar gradually.
- Beat until a stiff meringue forms.
- Fold the meringue gently into cake batter. (Underfolding will leave white streaks; overfolding will make the cake tough.)
Pour into prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Cool on cake racks. Split each layer horizontally to make a total of four layers.
To make whipped cream filling and frosting:
- In a large chilled bowl, whip cream with electric mixer, gradually adding powdered sugar and vanilla.
Put it all together:
- Place 1 split layer on a plate, cut side down (the bottom, browner side up, is easier to frost than the cut side). Place wax paper strips under the edge of the cake so the plate will stay neat.
- Using a round-tipped steel spatula, spread with a layer of whipped cream filling;
- top with second cake layer (the baked, brown top facing up). Frost second layer. Top with sliced bananas.
- Add third layer (second bottom, browner side up) and add more filling,
- then top with fourth layer (again, the baked, brown top facing up).
- Frost sides with remaining whipped cream.
- Remove wax paper strips. Refrigerate.