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Easy and Delicious Banana Split Cake

I have the perfect July 4th recipe for you this week: Easy and Delicious Banana Split Cake!  I went live on Facebook Wednesday evening to show how simple this picnic/party dessert is to put together, and I’m really hoping that some of you try it for the 4th.

We’ve been making Banana Split Cake in my family since I was about 13 or14 years old – of course, back in the stone ages we didn’t have a stand mixer like I do now, and the filling needed to be whipped for twenty minutes!  Yes, that’s not a typo, twenty minutes. This, of course, meant that while we loved (and I do mean LOVED) this cake, we didn’t make it terribly often, and when we did, it was a family affair and we took turns with the mixer.

Banana Split Cake, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida

SO Delicious!

Now that practically everyone and their brother (although not my brother) has a stand mixer, this cake is ready for the masses!  It’s much easier to make and I did the entire thing live in about 30 minutes.  That’s right, from the first measuring cup of graham crackers to placing it in the fridge – 30 tiny minutes!

This recipe has been in our family for about 40 years but this was the first time I’d had it in about 25 – It’s as good as I remember, and if the ladies at Laura’s Beads have anything to say about it, I’ll be making it again soon!  It’s definitely a crowd pleaser!

Try it – you’ll love it!  I’ve embedded the live video below if you’d like to see it step by step.

Print Recipe
 Easy and Delicious Banana Split Cake
Banana Split Cake, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida
Servings
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
  • 1 1/4 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter melted
Filling
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter room temp
  • 2 ea. Eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla I used vanilla bean paste
  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Other ingredients
  • 1 Can Crushed Pineapple large can, drained
  • 3 ea. Bananas cut in about 1/4" slices
  • 1 Container Cool Whip large container
  • 2 oz. Chopped Walnuts
  • Maraschino Cherries for garnish, if desired
Servings
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
  • 1 1/4 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter melted
Filling
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter room temp
  • 2 ea. Eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla I used vanilla bean paste
  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Other ingredients
  • 1 Can Crushed Pineapple large can, drained
  • 3 ea. Bananas cut in about 1/4" slices
  • 1 Container Cool Whip large container
  • 2 oz. Chopped Walnuts
  • Maraschino Cherries for garnish, if desired
Banana Split Cake, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida
Instructions
Prep
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees - you'll need it to bake the graham cracker crust.
Graham Cracker Crust
  1. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave - 30 seconds should do it.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Mix with a fork until a sandy consistency.
  3. Pour into a 9x13 pan and spread evenly. Pat down gently with your hand (gloved, or impeccably clean) and then use the bottom of a heavy spatula to press tightly and evenly.
  4. Bake for 7 minutes and cool completely before adding the filling. (I let mine cool for 5 minutes on the counter and then pop in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the Filling
  1. In the bowl of a your stand mixer (I use a Kitchenaid), add the butter, eggs, and vanilla - beat on low for a few minutes to incorporate slightly.
  2. Add the 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix on low until incorporated.
  3. Scrape the sides of the bowl and turn up to medium for a minute or two.
  4. Scrape down again and mix on high for 6-8 minutes, until there is plenty of air incorporated and the filling becomes lighter in volume.
  5. Spread evenly over the graham cracker crust.
Remaining Layers
  1. Spread the crushed pinapple evenly over the filling.
  2. Slice the bananas and layer them over the pinapple.
  3. Spread a generous amount of the Cool Whip over the banana layer (I used almost the entire container), making sure to take it right up to the edges of the pan.
  4. Sprinkle the walnuts on the top.
  5. Cover tightly and refridgerate overnight.
  6. Add cherries before serving, if desired.
Recipe Notes
  • You can make this without a stand mixer, but you must whip the filling for a full 20 minutes.
  • Don't bother tasting the filling when it is done - it's very sweet.  It's the addition of the other ingredients that brings out the flavor of this dessert - it truly is the sum of it's parts!
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Beautiful and Refreshing Pink Lemonade Cake

Join Ana and me as we walk you through making this beautiful and refreshing Pink Lemonade cake!  In May, our month of lemony goodness, I knew that I wanted to attempt a pink lemonade cake.  I’d seen recipes for them before, but they all required frozen pink lemonade concentrate.  If you’ve been following us the last couple of months, you know how I feel about that!  Not good.  That’s how I feel about that, not good!  I just knew that there had to be a way to get that tart lemony flavor that is perfect offset by another, as yet unidentified, fresh fruit.  I also knew that that I would have to figure it out.  Challenge Accepted!

I began my research into pink lemonade with my dear friend Google Search.  Perhaps you’ve heard of her.  She’s actually kind of my best friend, but we don’t talk about that out loud.  Anyway, I simply started looking for homemade pink lemonade recipes and my pal returned more results than you could shake a stick at!  Seriously, I tried shaking a stick – not a dent.

There are two schools of thought on pink lemonade, and these are either the addition of fresh strawberry or the addition of fresh raspberry.  I read a little further, browsed a few more articles and recipes and decided that the raspberry seemed to be the most authentic.

A plan was born!  A plan was tested, and a plan failed.  Brainstorming continued…  more tests were run, and a winner emerged!  To describe how proud of myself I was would be impossible.  This was one of my first attempts ever at making modifications to a recipe and delivering something completely different.

Pink Lemonade Cake Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho

Isn’t she gorgeous?

This definitely won’t be the last!  I’m in love with this cake and am eager to keep pushing my own boundaries and if the experiments work out, you can bet I’ll be sharing them here – If you want to see experiments that don’t work out, well, those are on our Facebook LIVE broadcasts!  You could try the nut butter episode as a great example of me modifying a recipe to a spectacular failure!  But I digress – you’re here for a Beautiful and Refreshing Pink Lemonade Cake, and a pink lemonade cake you shall have!

As a bonus, we’re also posting the video on how to make the oh-so-pretty tri-color rosettes that cover the cake.

To get started, there are a few things you’ll need:

Making the Pink Lemonade Cake

Frosting the Cake

 

 

Print Recipe
 Beautiful and Refreshing Pink Lemonade Cake
Pink Lemonade Cake Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings
ounces
Ingredients
  • 375 grams Cake Flour
  • 375 grams Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 6 large Egg Whites Room Temp
  • 1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 cup Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup Butter Room Temp
  • 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 3 drops Pink Food Color Use Gel Color
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings
ounces
Ingredients
  • 375 grams Cake Flour
  • 375 grams Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 6 large Egg Whites Room Temp
  • 1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 cup Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup Butter Room Temp
  • 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 3 drops Pink Food Color Use Gel Color
Pink Lemonade Cake Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your 8" cake pans.
  2. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl of your stand mixer (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt).
  3. Add the softened butter.
  4. Turn the mixer (with the paddle attachment) on to stir speed.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients (egg whites, lemon juice, raspberry simple syrup, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and pink food color.
  6. Add 1/3 of the mixture to the dry ingredients.
  7. Turn the mixer on stir, easing up to 4 (on a KitchenAid) and beat for about 30 seconds on 4. (scrape the bowl when finished)
  8. Add half of the remaining liquid ingredients and whip on 4 for another 30 seconds. (scrape the bowl when finished)
  9. Add the remaining liquid ingredients and beat on 4 for another 30 seconds. Once the mixture has come together and is starting to look like you'd expect cake batter to look, stop and scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment.
  10. Mix at speed 8 for about 15-20 seconds.
  11. Divide batter evenly between your prepared pans.
  12. Turn the temperature of the oven down to 325 degrees F and quickly put the batter filled pans in.
  13. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Make sure you test this cake with a toothpick to make sure it's done in the middle! If the cake needs more than 45 minutes to cook completely, check it every 2 minutes until it's done.
Recipe Notes
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Simple Watercolor Effect – So Pretty!

by Posted in Tutorials Tagged , , , Leave a comment

As promised, in this video, I demonstrate a simple watercolor effect for your cake.  This is one of my favorite finishes on a buttercream cake, because it adds some really pretty effects and it’s super simple to do!

I’ve used a watercolor effect several times and always receive compliments on the finished product – it’s simple to achieve and can be done with multiple colors or for a more elegant look, you can use different shades of the same color.  Remember, it’s difficult to know exactly how the finished product will look, but as you use the technique more and more, you’ll get a better idea of how the colors will blend.

Most of the tools in this video are ones we’ve seen before, and I’m linking them here for your convenience:

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Putting it Together – Frost it Upside Down!

by Posted in Tutorials, Videos Tagged , , , , 4 Comments

Frost it upside down?  What kind of sorcery is this?!  It’s actually a pretty simple and effective technique to get smooth sides and clean edges.  So far in the April series of videos, we’ve created tutorials for creating a Simple, Delicious, Modified Box Cake; Easy and Fresh Strawberry Filling; and Light & Fluffy Swiss Merengue Buttercream.  This is the week that we put it all together and by using the upside down method, we achieve a gorgeous, professional quality, finish.

Before we get into the tools and the video, let me say that as I’m editing these I’m definitely noticing a difference in both me and Ana during the taping.  We’re both just a little more relaxed, Ana is participating (watch her hand, as she grabs some cake scraps and listen her her moans of what I can only assume is ecstasy as she’s eating it behind the camera) and we’re both having a better time overall – Thank goodness – that “deer in the headlights” look had to go!  The editing still needs work, I’m starting to get the hang of it, and will be working to improve the transitions for the May batch of videos, we certainly hope you’re along for the ride!

There are some tools I use every single time I frost a cake (you recognize a lot of them from Rho’s Top Tools for Home Bakers – Part 2, and they’re linked here again for convenience:

Also, as a bonus – if you’re interested in that GINORMOUS serrated knife I show at the beginning of the video, it’s from Fat Daddios.

I hope you enjoy the tutorial!  Please don’t be shy about questions or comments, either here, or on our Facebook page, we love to see your finished products and chat with you about ongoing projects or questions!

 

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Simple, Delicious Modified Box Cake

In the first video, I demonstrate how to create a simple and delicious modified box cake.  This cake is moist and flavorful and has a great texture.  For those bakers who want a made from scratch taste this is a convenient way to go.  It’s also stackable, so if you’re planning a cake with more than one tier, this cake can withstand doweling and stacking with no problems!

This first video is definitely an example of how much Ana and I don’t know about production!  I was incredibly nervous, of course, but as the day went on we both got much more comfortable.  You’ll definitely see that in the other 4 videos posted in April.  I’m sure we’ve made some mistakes, but we’re in my kitchen, having some fun and hopefully getting you involved along the way!

In this, and in many recipes, I use Neilsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste.  I’ve found the best place to get it is on Amazon.com and I’ve provided a handy link.  There’s nothing quite like seeing all of those lovely vanilla beans in cakes and frostings!

The recipe is posted directly below the video!  Please get involved by posting your comments, questions and requests for future demos either on this page or on Facebook.  We love to hear from you!

 


Print Recipe
 Modified Box Cake
This cake is moist and flavorful and has a great texture. For those bakers who want a made from scratch taste this is a convenient way to go. It's simple and a great jumping off point for new bakers and those who are just starting decorating.
Bake with Rho - Simple, Delicious Modified Box Cake Demo
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings
party servings
Ingredients
  • 1 ea. Boxed Cake Mix I use Duncan Hines
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 dash Salt
  • 3 ea. Eggs Use large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 cup Sour Cream At room temperature
  • 2 tbsp Flavoring I used vanilla bean paste, but you can pair the flavoring to that of the cake mix.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings
party servings
Ingredients
  • 1 ea. Boxed Cake Mix I use Duncan Hines
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 dash Salt
  • 3 ea. Eggs Use large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 cup Sour Cream At room temperature
  • 2 tbsp Flavoring I used vanilla bean paste, but you can pair the flavoring to that of the cake mix.
Bake with Rho - Simple, Delicious Modified Box Cake Demo
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat Oven to 300 Degrees
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer on the stir setting, combine the eggs, water, sour cream and flavoring.
  3. While the liquid ingredients are incorporating, whisk together the cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. (I use a medium sized pyrex bowl.
  4. Turn off the mixer and add the dry ingredients all at once.
  5. Turn the mixer on, using the stir setting until the ingredients are just wet. Scrape the bowl.
  6. Turn the mixer to medium speed (4 on my KitchenAid) for two minutes.
  7. While the batter is mixing, prepare two 8" cake pans, using pan grease or the grease/flour method.
  8. Turn off the mixer and distribute the batter evenly between the two pans.
  9. Place in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes.
  10. After 30 minutes, turn the oven up to 325 degrees (do NOT open the door) and bake for an additional 25 - 30 minutes.
  11. Make sure to test for doneness - does the top of the cake spring back? Does a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean? If so, remove the cakes from the oven and set them on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
  12. After 5 minutes, remove the cakes from the pans and cool.