Banana Split Cake

One banana, two banana, three banana, four! Moist banana cake split with cream, fruit puree and topped with chocolate sauce and more fruit, a cake made for summer. This cake is very easy to make with readily available ingredients. I made this Banana Split Cake with fresh fruit and organic fresh cream as well as long life cream, such as Elmlea or Cool Whip, and canned fruit and, they were both good.  Easy recipe, good fun toppings and don't forget the sprinkles...

The hardest part is getting the bananas ripe enough to provide a good strong flavour to the batter. In this household bananas are a favourite fruit so they never have time to go 'over ripe' unless I hide them.  Sounds bizarre, that's us. Pick the other fruits for the cake centre that won't swamp the flavour of the banana cake; I have made this with apricot or peach puree and raspberries, pineapple chunks, topped off with just a few maraschino cherries .

 

I had a lot of help for the topping suggestions from the children; they favoured more chocolate sauce and sprinkles. However, the plain banana cake is also very good on it's own. You may have to make several just to be sure.

If you haven't manged to eat the plain cake, simply cut a generous 'V' shape from the middle. You can do this with a  smaller groove in the cupcakes and muffins too.

Spread some fruit puree in the split and then fill with the fruit of your choice

Cover this with a layer and cream, finish with more fruits and decorations. I hope this will to remind you of one of your favourite ice-cream desserts; the banana split.

Click on 'a how to' from Video Jug

Here's the recipe and for those of you who may like or even remember the original Banana Splits Theme song -  get singin'...

Text Only Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Cake:

8oz (225g) Butter

8oz (225g) Golden caster sugar

4 Large eggs

8oz (225g)Self raising flour

2-3  overripe bananas ( 8oz - 225g peeled weight at least )

1 tsp vanilla essence

Topping:

3 tbsp Fruit Puree

1 pt Whipped Cream

Selection of fruit and sauces

Sprinkles or nuts

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Method:

Preheat oven 140c/120c Fan/275F/Gas Mark 1.

Grease tin and line bottom with baking paper. Quantities are for 1lb loaf tin and 6  cupcake bases.

Mash the bananas well and put to one side.

Cream the sugar and butter together. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add the mashed banana and vanilla. Fold in the flour.  Spoon into tin and cup cake cases.

Place in the centre of the oven. Check after 15 minutes for the cupcakes, remove when firm and risen. Check and cover the loaf tin to stop over browning. Cook  for approx. another 30 minutes until risen and a skewer comes cleanly out. Allow to cool and chill.

Cut 'V' shape from centre of cakes and spread fruit puree over. In the main loaf add fruits in the groove!  Cover cakes liberally with cream.  Add more fruit cream, sauce, sprinkles, nuts, whatever you fancy. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

The loaf size cake served eight of us and it was a lot less work than making  8 banana splits at the last minute for dessert. Tra la la.....



Easy cup cake version: Banana cup cake split and filled with just the apricot  puree this time and topped with cream, more apricot fruit puree with dark chocolate sauce, topped with a cherry. Fruity.