Monday, May 20, 2019

Banana Pudding Poke Cake

This recipe is from a magazine "Southern Living Cakes & Pies " from July of 2018. I've been thinking of banana cream pie recently, and then came upon this recipe and found it interesting. So here it is. This cake serves 16 - 20 people. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

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Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed, overripe bananas (about 3-4 large bananas)

Homemade Vanilla Pudding
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
pinch kosher salt
2 cups whole milk
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (You may use vanilla extract if you don't have vanilla bean paste)
1/2 tbsp butter

Additional Ingredients
4-5 large barely fresh bananas, sliced
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
20 vanilla wafers, coarsely crushed
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar

1. Prepare the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13" baking pan, or spray with cooking spray. Stir or sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed for approximately 2 minutes, until well combined. Add the flour mixture in three parts, beating on low speed just until mixture is smooth after each addition. Fold the mashed bananas into the creamed batter and then pour into the prepared pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees in the middle of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in the cake, about 5 across, and 6 down, for a total of 30 holes.

4. Prepare the Pudding: In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Then whisk in the milk. Whisk in the egg yolks until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Immediately reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring constantly, just until pudding is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1-2 minutes.

5. Pour the pudding through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste and butter. Cool, stirring occasionally until the pudding is lukewarm, about 15 minutes. Spread the pudding evenly over the cake. Cover cake with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Chill the cake for a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

6. Remove plastic wrap from the pudding. Slice the 4-5 barely ripe bananas and scatter them on top of the pudding. Using an electric mixer, whip together the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. (If you chill the mixing bowl and beaters first, you will yield an even greater volume of whipped cream.) Beat cream until stiff peaks form. Spread over the bananas in an even layer.

7. For the Topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the crushed vanilla wafers, melted butter, flour, and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Press mixture together to form small clumps and spread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Cool completely, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle over the whipped cream topping and serve the cake immediately.

























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