The cake has chopped strawberries, bananas, walnuts, pineapple and chocolate chips. Based on that, it does have all the makings of a banana split, but in a cake form.
It turned out really moist. Outside of the texture, the taste was pretty amazing. The tidbits of pineapple still gave off some juice in the bite. This made me wish I had not have cut up the strawberries so small. The different fruits, chocolate chips and nuts are scattered in the cake, so you do get different flavors in each bite instead of a big blend of everything-that is if your bite is not real huge!
I did not ice this cake with the chocolate glaze, but I have included it in the recipe below.
Also, before I move on, I wanted to thank a few blogger for some recent awards:
Kim at Treat and Trinkets
She was so sweet and gave me the Versatile Blogger, Kreativ and Sunshine award. If you read Kim's about me section in her blog, you can see this is a person of many hats. However, I am glad she wears a food blogger hat because her talent in the kitchen is something to be shared. Thanks to her posting, I have a wonderful recipe for French Toast cupcakes as well as Cookie Stuffed Pies!
Richa at Khatta Meetha
Richa passed the Happy Blogger award to me. While her blog focuses on Indian cuisine, she does have some talent for a variety of things. You will find vegetarian, non vegetarian recipes as well as recipes for the kids. Truly this myriad of recipes does offer something for everyone. A few of my picks were crispy okra and coconut french toast. Also, her blog format does pull you in with the slide show and amazing pictures!
So venture out and pay these two girls a visit to their blog and say hello. Thanks again Kim and Richa for the awards.
Banana Split Cake
adapted from Nestle
Ingredients/Cake
1 cup chopped bananas
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1 1/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup mashed bananas
One 15.5 oz can of pineapple tidbits (I used 2 of the 8 oz cans)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Ingredients/Glaze
3 tbs butter
3 tbs light corn syrup
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let eggs and butter set out for 30 minutes to get to room temperature. Generously grease the inside of a 12 cup bundt pan with melted butter, then dust with flour.
Take 1/4 cup of pineapple juice from can and place in a small bowl. Drain and the rest of the juice from the pineapple can. You can discard or keep for another use. Add buttermilk to the 1/4 cup of juice and stir. Then, in a separate bowl. sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set both bowls aside.
Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until soft and fluffy. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Continue to add sugar in 1/4 cup measurements and beat after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally Then beat in the eggs, mashed bananas and extract until evenly distributed.
Using a wooden spoon, fold in 1/3 of the sifted ingredients. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture and stir until liquid is absorbed. Repeat the process of adding and stirring, ending with the last third of the flour mixture.
Fold in the chocolate chips and the 1/4 cup of walnuts. Then fold in the remaining fruit (chopped strawberries, chopped banana and pineapple tidbits), making sure all is evenly distributed. Spoon the batter into the pan, smoothing for an even top.
Place in oven and bake for 55-65 minutes or until tester comes out clean. The visible top of the cake does not turn golden, however the part covered by the pan does. Remove cake and let cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. Then invert onto rack to completely cool before glazing.
To make the glaze, fill a saucepan with all the ingredients, except for the walnuts. Place saucepan over low heat and stir. Once mixture is smooth and chips have melted, place a baking sheet lined with wax paper under the rack that is holding the cake. Then drizzle glaze over the cake and top with remaining nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
**LAST YEAR: Strawberry Kuchen**