banana cream birthday cake

One of my oldest friends had a daughter last year, and this is the cake I just made for her first birthday! Max (Maxine) loves bananas, so we wanted to make her something that felt familiar but also gave her the new experience of a baked dessert. Banana cream cake seemed like a great choice, so this cake features a banana cake (which happens to double as a pretty good banana “bread” too) and a banana cream filling made from banana pastry cream and Italian meringue buttercream.

The theme for this cake is “Where the Wild Things Are,” a classic children’s book and a popular theme for a kid’s birthday, too. Virtually any cake you see will have Max’s crown, and my cake is no exception. I do, though, make the crown from paper so the birthday girl can wear it – steps for that process are included.

This was a big video, because I show every step from the beginning of the baked elements, to working with fondant and creating all of the decorations for the cake. This is a fun cake for any seasoned cakers out there, and the step by step method makes it easy for beginners to tackle too! And hey, if you just feel like making banana cake and dipping it in the pastry cream, no judgements here. Enjoy!

Cheers – Chef Scott

banana cream birthday cake

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Ingredients

banana cake

• 119 g butter unsalted
• 300 g sugar
• 3 g salt
• 4 g cinnamon
• 3 g nutmeg
• 8 g vanilla extract Mexican
• 132 g sour cream
• 100 g whole egg about 2 eggs
• 447 g bananas fresh, about 4-5 bananas
• 275 g cake flour

banana pastry cream

• 415 g whole milk
• 104 g sugar
• 100 g egg yolk about 5 eggs
• 29 g corn starch
• 8 g vanilla extract
• 200 g bananas fresh, about 2 bananas

Italian meringue buttercream

• 210 g egg whites about 7 eggs
• 430 g sugar
• 100 g water
• 750 g butter unsalted

banana cream filling

• 2 parts Italian meringue buttercream
• 1 part banana pastry cream

fondant quantities

• 400 g green fondant 10" cake board/drum
• 600 g white fonant 6" cake
• 300 g white fondant cake detail
• 50 g white fondant tail detail

Servings:

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

banana cake

1. Bring the butter, sour cream and whole egg to room temp. before starting.
2. Prepare your cake rings with a thin, even coat of butter, followed by and even coat of flour. For this cake I used three, 6" x 3" cake rings.
3. Puree the bananas until smooth and keep covered until ready to use.
4. Combine and sift the cake flour and baking soda and reserve to use later.
5. Combine the butter, sugar, salt, spices, and vanilla extract in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until creamed, about 2-3min.
6. Add the eggs in a few additions, mixing well with each addition.
7. Add the sour cream and mix until well combined.
8. Add half of the pureed banana and half of the sifted dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 2-3min.
9. Add the remaining banana puree and sifted dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 3-4min.
10. Divide the dough equally into the three cake rings and bake at 165C/330F for 30-40min. or until a paring knife or cake tester comes out 95% clean.
11. Cover the baked cake with a clean tea towel and cool for 15-20min. then remove the cake rings and keep the cakes wrapped at room temperature until ready to use.

banana pastry cream

1. Prepare a half sheet pan with a layer of plastic wrap over it before getting started.
2. Bring the whole milk to a simmer over medium heat.
3. While the milk is heating, combine the egg yolks, starch, and sugar, and quickly whisk them together until well combined.
4. Temper the egg yolks into the steaming milk while whisking rapidly.
5. Cook the custard over medium heat until it thickens.
6. Continue to cook, while whisking, for 1 minutes to remove and starch flavor.
7. Add the banana and hand blend until smooth.
8. Spread the pastry cream out over a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap, and add a second layer of plastic wrap to touch.
9. Cool the pastry cream in the refrigerator for 1-2hrs. Because of the added banana, the pastry cream will still be loose once cool.

Italian meringue buttercream

1. Chop the butter and bring the egg whites to room temp. before getting started.
2. Combine the water and sugar in a sauce pot and begin to heat over medium heat, whisking gently to dissolve the sugar.
3. Once the sugar begins to show signs of boiling, stop whisking and add a digital thermometer to the syrup to monitor temperature. Turn the heat to medium-high.
4. Once the sugar syrup begins to boil, begin whisking your egg whites in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed. It is important that the egg whites are fully foamed - with no clear egg white albumen showing - by the time the syrup reaches temperature.
5. Cook the sugar syrup to 121C/250F.
6. Turn the whisking egg whites on high speed. Carefully pour the hot sugar syrup over the egg whites, hooking the sauce pot to the the lip of the mixing bowl and allowing the syrup to run down the side of the inside of the bowl. Do not pour the syrup over the whisk attachment.
7. Add the syrup in a slow, steady stream.
8. Once all of the sugar syrup is added, increase the mixing speed to high for 30-40 seconds, then return the mixing speed to medium-high.
9. Whisk the egg whites for about 10minutes, until they thicken, and develop a glossy sheen. They will be at soft peak when ready.
10. While whisking on low speed, slowly add the room temp. butter.
11. Whisk until the buttercream stiffens, then switch to a paddle attachment and continue to mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.

banana cream filling

1. Combine 1 part banana pastry cream with 2 parts Italian meringue buttercream, whisking well until combined.

cake assembly

1. Cut the domes off of the baked and cooled banana cakes.
2. Fill a disposable piping bag with buttercream. Cut 3/4" off the tip of the piping bag.
3. Place the cake on a cake turntable to begin assembly. Pipe a rope of buttercream around the outside edge of the first layer of cake.
4. Add banana cream filling to the center of the cake, then spread it evenly, flush with the rope of buttercream.
5. Place the next layer of cake onto the filling and buttercream, pressing gently and evenly to adhere it.
6. Repeat this process until the top layer of cake has been added.
7. Pipe buttercream into any gaps on the sides of the cake and scrape them smooth with a spatula. Chill the cake for 20 minutes before moving to the next step. Chilling the cake is optional but will keep the layers of cake held firm and make the next steps easier.
8. Cover the cake in a thick coat of buttercream.
9. Using an offset spatula, smooth the top of the cake, holding the offset spatula steady while you turn the turntable. As you smooth the top, buttercream will be press out and down the sides.
10. Using a bench scraper, smooth the sides of the cake, removing excess buttercream as needed.
11. Clean the top lip of the cake with and offset spatula, moving from the edge of the cake to the center, using the blade of the spatula to cut and remove the excess buttercream.
12. Chill the cake for 20-30 minutes.

cake board fondant

1. Knead the fondant by hand for 1-2min. to soften it.
2. Add green gel color and knead the fondant until the color is distributed evenly, adding more color as you work if necessary.
3. Lightly dust your work surface with corn starch, and begin rolling the fondant. A 2' length of PVC pipe works well for this step.
4. Roll the fondant to 1/4" thick, and check to make sure it is just wider than a 10" cake board/drum.
5. Add a light coat of water to the cake board and add the fondant.
6. Using a fondant smoother, smooth the fondant, adhering it to the board.
7. Trim excess fondant from the edge of the board using a paring knife.
8. Using a cake ring the diameter of the assembled cake, make a light mark in the center of the cake board.
9. Using sculpting tools, create jungle plants and scenery into the fondant around the edge. Use a scribe tool to outline the plants, and then press the fondant down around the lines to create a relief effect.
10. With the same cake ring used to mark the cake board, stamp the fondant fully and remove the inner circle of fondant.

cake fondant

1. Repeat the kneading and rolling process for the cake, this time rolling the fondant to 1/8" thick.
2. Cover the cake with the fondant, and adhere it to the top of the cake with a fondant smoother, then adhere the fondant to the top 1" of the sides of the cake using the knife edge of your hand.
3. Gently work the fondant down the sides of the cake, spreading the skirt of loose fondant out while using the knife edge of your hand to smooth the fondant to the sides. Avoid working on one section at a time, and instead work all the way around the cake in small increments.
4. Once the fondant is fully adhered to the sides of the cake, use a fondant smoother to smooth the sides, then trim the excess fondant from the base of the cake.
5. Place a small dot of glucose or buttercream on the center of the cake board where the green fondant was removed.
6. Transfer the cake with an offset spatula to the center of the cake board.

cake detail fondant

1. Roll the cake detail fondant to a circle 1/8" thick.
2. Cut an organic pattern of petal shapes out around the outside edge of the rolled fondant.
3. Add a light coat of water to the top of the cake, then center and place the detail fondant onto the cake.
4. Use a fondant smoother to adhere the detail to the top of the cake, then gently smooth the petal shapes down the sides of the cake without adhering them.

tail detail fondant

1. Shape the fondant into a 4" log, then slightly taper each end.
2. Bring one end to a point to form the tip of the tail, and shape the log into a gentle curve.
3. Adhere the tail to the back of the cake with a small amount of water, then stipple it with the tip of a paring knife to create an abstract fur effect.

paper crown

1. Cut a strip of gold craft paper 4 3/4" wide by 17" long.
2. Cut triangles from one edge of the strip to create the points of the crown.
3. Test the crown for fit on the top of the cake and trim the length of the strip of paper as needed.
4. Glue the ends of the strip of paper together with hot glue or double-sided tape.
5. Use any remaining craft paper to cover the sides of the cake board. Cut strips of paper as thick as the board is tall. Use hot glue to adhere the paper to the cake board, ensuring any seams are on the sides of the cake and not the front.

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