Banana Caramel Cake
March 31 2019
We try and do Sunday Dinner every week – a nice sit down with the kids – we even use our “good” china.
We have sort of fallen off the wagon since March Break but bought a roast and hopped right back on for this week.
I thought I would make a dessert for tonight – make it from the handbook, two birds kinda thing
Banana bread is a staple in our house, so I thought this would do the trick – except there is caramel or I as I like to call it burning sugar. I will get to burn sugar twice with this recipe! Yea!!!
Making the cakes was simple, much like banana bread.
They were pretty lumpy but I think that is from not smashing the bananas, we like a chunky banana bread around here.
Now onto making the first caramel. Which I then need to add the bananas to, this has several opportunities to go wrong.
I did it. I made the caramel without burning the sugar
It came together perfectly. The bananas were falling apart and once I put them on the cake they were not that pretty, but they tasted good and I did not burn the sugar.
On to the frosting, this seems easy enough, but the instructions are pretty vague.
It says to use the paddle attachment put the cheese, cream and sugar and mix for 1-2 minutes until soft peaks form. Do not over beat.
This doesn’t seem right as the cream is not whipped yet and will be difficult with a paddle attachment.
But I believe in Martha, I trust Martha. Onwards!
This is where things get hinky.
The cheese is not very soft, it is more like brick cream cheese consistency. Going to be difficult.
The cream has not yet been beaten. It doesn’t look good.
I beat this for 3-4 minutes because the cream was not forming. It was gooey, like pudding, before it firms. This does not resemble frosting
I am putting it in the fridge while I make the caramel sauce, hoping it would firm some more.
Burning sugar round two. I am ready for this.
It is melting nicely and is coming together.
It is the colour it is supposed to be – as I reference page 19 of the Handbook.
When I add the cream, it starts to glob, but I returned to the heat and it starts to smooth – as per Martha’s instructions.
Once in the ice bath it cools and is the right consistency! I had my youngest ‘stirring consistently’ for me while I check on the frosting.
I didn’t burn the sugar! Twice!
Not to tempt the caramel gods or anything, but I think I might be getting the hang of this cooking sugar thing.
I checked on my frosting…this is not going to go well.
It is a gloopy, runny mess. Still not a frosting
I don’t have any more mascarpone, so we are going at it the way it is.
It looks terrible and is running everywhere.
If this were for someone other that my family I would be embarrassed to serve it. It was a sloppy mess. It made the caramel sauce run everywhere
All in all, it tastes good, everyone really liked it and the kids don’t really care what it looks like.
So, my thoughts on this frosting, I think if the beaten cheese and sugar were folded into the whipped cream it would have worked.
That would achieve the spreadable, thick frosting that we are looking for in this recipe
The instructions were too vague, especially for Martha.
There was so much left over that I put it in the freezer and will use it just that way with another cake of my own, probably a sponge with berries. My middle one loves and just wants to eat it like pudding.
So, with the slight tweak to the frosting, I am saying Bakeable.
