Birthday Cake For Dave!

So my boyfriend Dave just turned 22 years old this passed Monday and ever since we've been together I always make him a birthday cake.So the day before, which was Mother's Day,I made him a 2 layer round cake along with making a second cake for my Mom.It was a very busy day of making treats.

So since it was so busy I made it simple on myself and made another banana cake, following the same recipe.It was super simple to make and very quick.Which was great because it gave me lots of time to brainstorm in how I wanted to decorate this cake.So when the time passed, I figured out exactly what I wanted.

For decorating, I prepared myself a batch of peanut butter frosting from a recipe in Betty Crockers Cookbook New Edition.It was  really easy to make and great to work with for decorating.It covered the cake layers really nicely and I didn't even have to worry about any crumbs showing through like in the last cake.

Overall, the frosting gave the cake lots of height & shape with very minimal work put into it. Its texture was thick and creamy, no complaints;however its flavor was very rich,which sort of overpowered the banana cake. It was still very good, but I think next time I will ease up on how much peanut butter is being added to create a milder flavor.After, I created this frosting,it wasn't the only thing I was using to decorate this cake.

 I had two cad bury dairy milk bars in hand,which I thought would be a great way to decorate this cake.These bars I had were a brand new flavor from cad bury, it was their coconut and cashew milk chocolate bars, which was a great choice for Dave because he loves coconut.So with this chocolate I simply cut them into chunks and one half went in between the layer and the second half was sprinkled on top. The chocolate made it a real simple way to  decorate this cake without any piping.Overall, it gave the cake a slight crunchy texture and a mild flavor of coconut.Mostly it helped in giving this cake a great appearance.
 
I had a lot of fun creating this cake and it being the second one I made that day.I was getting my groove and it became pretty simple to create.The recipe I know was simple and quick.The frosting made it so much easier then the icing I did for the last cake and the chocolate really helped in appearance.Overall, I recommend this cake recipe and I think frosting are ten times better then icings.Try the recipe out for yourself.Bring your own ideas into it and let me know.

I think I have had my share of making cakes for now.Moving on to simpler treats!

Banana Cake 

Company's Coming Cakes Written By Jean Pare

Yields : 2 cake rounds (8inch)

1/2 cup margarine,softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup mashed banana (2 large ripe bananas or 2 large frozen bananas, thawed & mashed)

1/3 cup sour milk

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Grease and flour two 8inch round cake pans.Beat margarine and sugar together in a large bowl, till light and fluffy.Beat in eggs one at a time and add vanilla.

In a medium bowl, Mash two large ripe bananas.Add the buttermilk or sour milk.Set aside.

How To Create Sour Milk:1/3 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice,let sit for 5 minutes.When its cloudy its ready to use.

In a medium bowl,Sift together flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt.

To mix.Added fat mixture in 3 parts alternately with banana mixture in 2 parts,beginning and ending with flour. Example:Dry mix,banana mix,dry mix,banana mix and lastly dry mix. Beat thoroughly after adding each mix. Once everything is fully mixed in, spread batter evenly into both prepared cake pans.

Bake in oven for 25-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.Dark brown in color.Cool and release cakes on cooling rack.Let cool completely.Cut the cakes tops to make them even.Place on a cake stand and decorate.

Peanut Butter Frosting 
(Betty Crocker CookBook New Edition)

3 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup + milk

In a large bowl, beat icing sugar and peanut butter on low speed.Stir in vanilla and gradually beat in milk till smooth and spreadable.If frosting is to thick, add more milk, few drops at a time and if to thin beat in small amount of icing sugar.Fill and frost two 8 inch cake rounds.

Chocolate Chunks:

Cut two bars with a knife into large/small chunks.Sprinkle half of chocolate chunks to the inside layer and then the second half for the top.Keep it pretty close to the middle. Let set in fridge.