Banana Split Cake

My cupcake version of this Banana Split Cake is one of my favorite things I've ever created (in the kitchen, anyway). So, I decided I needed to make a cake-sized version.

What could be better than my favorite banana cake, topped with scoops of yummy, rich icing that taste just like ice cream, but without the brain freezes or the dripping??

What You Need:
Banana Cake (baked in 6, 8, or 9-inch round pans)
One recipe Vanilla Buttercream Icing (divided into thirds)
1/4-1/2 cup frozen strawberries, defrosted
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
Sprinkles
Chocolate for drizzling
Marachino Cherries
Whipped Cream
Small Ice Cream or Dough Scoop

The Making and The Baking

Start by making one banana cake. The one I used for this cake is an 8"x3" round cake. You could also use two 8 or 9-inch round pans or two or three 6" round pans.
The cake will need to be completely cool before you start decorating. (This usually takes between one and three hours.)

To make the icing, I actually made a 1 1/2 batch of my Vanilla Buttercream Icing, then flavored one third of it strawberry, and one third of it chocolate. This gave me a little more than I needed, but would be great if you wanted to add more icing to the sides or more "ice cream scoops" on the top.

Click the link for a tutorial on how to make the buttercream icing.
In short: combine the egg whites and sugar over a pot of simmering water, whisking constantly until they reach 160-degrees.
Whip the whites with a stand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Add vanilla and butter. Whip again until the icing comes to the right consistency. (Not too soupy.)

Divide the icing into thirds. With a batch and a half, that means 1 3/4 to 2 cups for each flavor.

To make the strawberry icing, puree 1/4-1/2 cup of defrosted frozen strawberries (including the juice).
Add the strawberries to one part of the icing. Mix on high in the mixer until well-mixed.

To make the chocolate icing, add 2 oz. of melted dark chocolate to another third of the icing. (I didn't even bother to wipe out the mixer... which is why I did the strawberry first, so I could be lazy with the cleaning.) Again mix until it is well-combined.
This icing was very chocolate-y. If you aren't a huge fan of chocolate, I might cut down the chocolate to just 1-ounce. Although, I did use the super dark Ghirardelli chocolate, so that may be why as well.

The Assembling and Decorating

I went with a little easy/lazy for my decorating this time around. I used my 1/4 cup dough scoop to make "ice cream scoops" on the top.

You want to make the cake into four layers, or as many as you want to fill with each flavor of icing. For my 8"x3" cake that meant using the cake leveler to cut it in half, then each half in half.

I then spread each layer with one flavor of icing...

...ending with an uncovered layer on the top.

The "decorating" was super easy. Take scoops of each kind of icing and distribute them around the top of the cake. (You can spread it around if you want, when you get your piece of cake.)
Another idea I had to decorate it, but didn't go with, was to do the icing in "rings" around the side, with a ring of chocolate icing, a ring of vanilla and a ring of strawberry, but then I decided I liked the "naked" side of the cake better.

I added some sprinkles, melted chocolate for a drizzle, and a few marachino cherries. If I'd have been really ambitious, I could have used whipped cream as well, but I didn't have any cream at home today.

Looks like a great, big ice cream sundae, doesn't it? But the bonus is... it won't melt!! (Until it gets into your mouth anyway.)

Click the Links Below to See:
My Recipe Index
Banana Cake Recipe
Rich Buttercream Icing Recipe 
Banana Split Cupcakes Recipe  

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