I was super excited about this months Cake Slice bakers selection! This month two cakes tied! We could choose from "Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream" or a "Classic Butter cake with chocolate frosting". I haven't had much baking practice with banana cake recipes, so I chose the banana.
This month was also my twin nieces birthdays, and this year I was in charge of the cake. Super happy about that! My sister ordered a "Tinker Bell" themed cake. I decided to upgrade the cake to two tiers, and make the top tier a banana cake using this recipe.
Since the cake was for a children's birthday party I decided to leave out the bourbon in the nut mixture.
I have made Italian buttercream before and this technique leaves a identical texture and flavor. Both pretty easy to make, at this point I don't prefer one over the other. They are equally delicious!
I absolutely loved this buttercream! I only used half of the espresso it called for, I was afraid of having a bitter result. It had a hint of coffee and walnuts, it was perfect!
I made sure it had a generous portion of filling and decided to give it a crumb coat too.
I had a lot of compliments, everyone seemed to enjoy it. I loved everything about this cake. Besides holding back a little on the coffee, I also used cake flour instead of all purpose. I wanted it to be lighter and not end up with a dense cake. I'm glad the guests enjoyed it, we had no leftovers or wasted cake.
Such a beautiful cake! I chose this cake too and I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteOh your cake is just gorgeous! What a great idea to make a two tier cake and have the top cake be the banana cake! I think you were wise to leave out the bourbon and cut back the coffee...those flavors really overtook the walnut flavor for me. But I enjoyed it just the same. Your nieces must have been thrilled with such a beautiful cake!
ReplyDeleteI am soooo surprised at how beautiful this banana cake turned out for everybody! I love it! I guess in my narrow mind I couldn't shake the picture of a too simple "banana bread" and that's why I chose "The Classic" but this banana cake is now a "must try" for me! Yours looks soo tall and great! Love the cake part as well! oooh yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paloma....this cake has become a "must try" for me. You made it look so delicious! Lucky little birthday girl!! :)
ReplyDeleteYour cake is so so pretty!! I love the way you made it into a two tier cake :)
ReplyDeleteLove that you were able to fit the cake into something that you were already doing. The buttercream looks delish!
ReplyDeleteI love how you incorporated the cake in the birthday cake .... it's beautiful and great idea. Glad you made some changes ... I wish I would have :)
ReplyDeleteHow fun your cake turned out! I bet your nieces loved it so much!! I was worried about the denseness too - will try it with the cake flour one of these days as you did.
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Your cake looks stunning, I bet your nieces really loved it :-) x
ReplyDeleteFirst off, so sorry it has taken me so long to look at this magnificent cake. Speaking of magnificent cakes, this really is beautiful! I would be so happy if I had this cake for my birthday. But I'd also feel a little guilty cutting into it. It looks too pretty :P
ReplyDeleteI can see why you've received so many compliments--wow, that is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYour cake is pretty awesome! as usual!
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