Banana Cream Cake: Wishful Thinking Blog With Friends

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends themed collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about his partnership is that it's not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may a recipe, sewing tutorial, crocheting, crafts project, book review, and/or technology post all related to the theme of the month.

This month's theme is Wishful Thinking.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here's a peek at what we all came up with:

I made Banana Cream Cake

Banana Cream Cake

Wishful Thinking, in the context of this blog post has its meaning in baking. But wishful thinking in life, means something very different. A little over a week ago these two aspects converged. 

As many of you who follow this blog know, I've got 2 boys. My older son went to college about 45 minutes from home and is still local. My younger son PurDude, however, went to school 10 hours away. It was incredibly difficult for me. Not only was he far away, but I realized how sheltered a life he'd led. While at school he had his first broken bone, a leg, and dealt with some incredibly difficult circumstances including the death of his frat's chef, who they'd recently made a brother. I could only support from far away.

When he graduated, he came home and, miraculously, the best job offer he got was from a Fortune 500 company just about 1/2 hour from here. He chose an amazing apartment downtown and I happily put together all of his wants and needs, decorated it and moved him in. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out, I wrote about it in a piece called Home with an H. I was thrilled to have him so close again. 

BUT. He went through the in-house training program and was assigned to a project mostly based in Louisville, CO but with a small subgroup here in town. Within months they flew him out to Colorado and were talking about moving him there. They'd let him finish out his lease here. Which happened at the end of last month.

Long story short, PurDude was packed up and moved out of his downtown loft about 10 days ago and he moved in with us. Not knowing how long he'd be without a car he chose not to have the company ship it. In anticipation of the moving company moving him into his new apartment in Boulder next week, he climbed into his new car and set out on the 8 hour drive. Yesterday.

Wishful thinking? Well, that's a tough one today. I wish my son could still stop by for dinner on a whim. But I am so excited for him, so currently my wishful thinking is for my son to build a life filled with fun, comfort, adventures, success, friendship, contentment and happiness.

I worked on another wish while he was home though. I made all of his favorite foods, and tried out some new recipes. For me, wishful thinking, when it comes to baking, is that the inspiration bring a smile to my face, that the recipe is easy to execute and share, that it's pretty, that it's flavorful, that it comes out on the first try. Most of all, wishful thinking is that the smile that comes to my face as the recipe comes together in my mind, is reflected on the face of my family when they taste it. Today I'm sharing a new dessert, inspired by Banana Cream Pie, that PurDude loved. 

I like easy recipes, so this one started with some simple ingredients, including a cake mix and pudding mix.

I didn't follow the ingredient instructions on the cake box, coming up with my own including some chopped macadamia nuts for a little crunch.

I must have been channeling bananas foster when I made the filling, although I did skip the alcohol (you're shocked, I know).

I layered the sauteed bananas over the cake.

Finished with flavored whipped cream, then repeated the layers.

It looks just as I'd envisioned, and believe me that doesn't always happen.

And it is delicious. I wonder if another slice might be worth an 8 hour drive . . .

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:


 

Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Happy Sweater Weather. 









Dawn of Spatulas on Parade shares Calorie Free Cake - Wishful Thinking. 

 

Kia of The Ground Beneath My Feet shares Wishful Thinking: How a Map Made Me Want to Consume the World.


 





Jules of The Bergham Chronicles shares Spoonfuls of Wishes. 


 





Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Tips for Returning to Work after Working From Home. 

 






 Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom shares Wishful Thinking? Make it Happen!

Banana Cream Cake

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 box instant banana pudding mix
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

4 TBSP butter
3 TBSP brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 bananas, sliced

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans.
*Beat together the cake mix, pudding mix, buttermilk, water, vegetable oil and eggs for 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the macadamia nuts and spread evenly into the prepared pans. 
*Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the center springs back to the touch. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely. 
*Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir until smooth. Add in the bananas and, stirring gently, cook for 1 minute, making sure all of the banana slices are well coated. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
*Once the cake layers are cool, place on onto a serving plate.
*Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and cinnamon and continue to beat until stiff peaks hold. 

*Spoon half of the banana mixture onto the bottom cake layer. Rearrange the banana pieces into a single layer over the cake.
*Gently spread half of the whipped cream over the top of the bananas.
*Carefully place the second cake layer over the whipped cream and gently press down. Repeat the steps with the remaining banana mixture, then the remaining whipped cream. 
*Store, covered, in the refrigerator.