Happy Birthday…. to me!
It’s my 25th Birthday on Sunday and my Dad’s 35th…(give or take a couple decades, love you pop!)…. on Monday! So this weekend is absolutely jam packed with fun bday festivities!
Birthday’s are seriously the best.I’m celebrating with my friends tomorrow night then meeting up with my fam to go to the Bears game on Sunday… and sit at the 50 yard line! These tickets are crazy good! Then finishing up Monday on my dad’s bday for a big family dinner with my grandpa.
Not bad, huh? The only thing missing is…..
Cake! Lots of cake! Too much cake!
Which is exactly why I started eating cake on Wednesday. How else can I properly OD on birthday cake if I don’t start almost a full week in advance??
Luckily I made my very favorite cake EVER to ensure a full blown sugar coma come Monday. This cake is two layers of moist and tender banana cake, sandwiched with a rich and creamy chocolate fudge frosting, and then smothered in even more of that same addictive frosting.
I modeled this recipe after one of my favorite cake recipes by Abby Dodge. This lady has the most irresistible cookbook, The Weekend Baker. I swear, if I could eat only one thing for the rest of my life it really might be her banana cake with fudgy frosting.
So while I’m obsessed with her recipe -the butter, milk, and cream that she uses doesn’t sit as well in my old lady tummy as well as it did when I was 18…so I had to do some experimenting!
The final product was a deliciously moist and banana-y lower cal cake with the the creamiest fudge frosting that tastes EXACTLY like her fudgy frosting from her cookbook. I swear I am so proud of that frosting! It took me 6 tries and a few pounds chocolate to get this one perfect.. and it is perfect.
Happy Birthday Dad!
Banana Layer Cake with Fudgy Frosting
Yields 16 servings (1 slice)
Ingredients:
For the Banana Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana
- 1/2 cup plain soy yogurt (or regular plain nonfat yogurt)
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk (full fat), stirred before measuring
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 350° and coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
- In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, oil, 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, egg whites, and egg in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add mashed banana and beat well. Add flour mixture and yogurt alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks; remove from pans. Peel off wax paper; cool completely on wire racks.
- Melt chocolate in microwave until smooth. Set aside.
- Combine sugar, coconut milk, vegan butter, vanilla, and salt in a blender. Add melted chocolate and blend on high speed until the mixture darkens and is very thick; about 2 minutes. If you have a small blender you may want to do this in two batches so you do not overload your poor little blender!
- Once the frosting has completely cooled, cover with plastic wrap until the cake is ready to frost. If you frosting is still not thick enough you can just refrigerate it for 1-2 hours and it will firm up perfectly! Just let it come back to room temperature and stir smooth until frosting.
Cake recipe adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
Frosting recipe adapted from The Weekend Baker, by Abby Dodge
This looks like an amazing birthday cake! :)
Exactly what I wanted this week :) Now can’t get to get out and celebrate tonight!
Kristina,
Have a great birthday! I ‘m sure that you could be in sugar coma eating all this yummy cake I love the sprinkles.
How did your fam get tickets on the 50 yard line for the Bears game?? I’ll look for you on TV!!!!
I’m so excited!! My uncle has season tickets, I got super lucky! I’ll try and do something obnoxious so you can pick me out on the screen.. :)
Banana cake?! Why yes I want to eat it all! Minus the chocolate of course (weirdo me)…but gimme that cake all day!!
Haha you and chocolate! You’re so WEIRD. But I still love you :) You could totally just make this with a cream cheese frosting and it would (almost) just as tasty!
AHHH! YAYYY! YOUR BIRTHDAY IS COMINGGGGGG!
How precious is that photo of you and your dad!?
You’re a genius. That cake and that frosting look absolutely drool-worthy, and you somehow many them all healthified. Amazingggg
Haha! My poor dad… love the 80s stache. I don’t think he’s seen this post yet – hope he doesn’t mind I just spammed him across the internet… :)
My dad sported that same ‘stache until a few years ago, now it’s morphed into a goatee :P
Happy birthday! What an amazing cake to celebrate with! That frosting looks tooo fudgy and addicting! I love that you used coconut milk in it too. Ahhh, it just looks SO good! Hope you and your dad have great birthdays!
Thanks for the bday wishes Annie! Excited to get celebrating tonight! And I swear that coconut milk made the frosting – I used it to swap out the original condensed milk and it worked soo perfectly :)
May I just first say that you are seriously gorgeous!! I am a little jealous of you and how pretty and tiny you are haha.
Second, that cake…..THAT CAKE! I have to make it.
Hahaa aw thanks darling! We’ll see how much longer that lasts after all this bday cake… :) Totally worth it, banana cake with fudgy frosting is seriously my favorite! You’ll have to let me know if you try! Have a great weekend!
Happy Pre-Birthday! Beautiful pictures with your dad. I’m loving the ‘stache!
hahaha! I know – the 80s version is beyond awesome. Poor dad.
Awe! The two photos are fabulous! Have a very happy birthday with lots and lots and lots of cake!
Hahah thanks Anita! O I will :) Wouldn’t miss my favorite part!
Happy birthday chica! You did an AMAZING job on your cake! IT looks so moist and that frosting does look like chocolate perfection.
Thanks Joanne! Can’t wait to celebrate tonight! Here comes round two of bday cakes… :)
That’s an amazing looking cake. Happy Birthday to you Dad, those are two great pictures of you two :)
Happy Happy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Happy 25th Birthday Kristina!! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! This looks like the perfect cake to celebrate! And I’m definitely bookmarking it because banana cake is my absolute favorite!
happy birthday to you and your dad! such cute pictures of you two!! this sounds like an absolutely amazing birthday cake, love it!
Awwww Happy birthday to you and your dad my friend :D
What a delicious celebration!
Cheers
CCU
Happy birthday, Kristina! Your cake looks so yummy and festive. I want to reach through the screen for a sample of that fudgy icing!
Kristina, you’re a hardcore cake eating machine :) I love that you started eating cake a week before your birthday; you sure know how to celebrate, and I’ll totally be doing that for my birthday next year. Happy belated birthday, girl!
Your cake looks amazing!
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAYYY!! :D
looks like you had a blastttt!! Plus, this cake must have made everything better! ^^
HAPPY BIRTDAY! And WOW what a cake! It loks to die for!!! I def have to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing:-)
Wow!! Happy birthday! That cakes look amazing!