The Cake Slice: Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache
January 20, 2009 at 7:30 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 40 Comments
Ack–I didn’t realize that this post and the TWD one would fall on the same day! So in addition to having to crank out two posts on Monday night, I have also been subsisting on an all-cake diet for the past week!
This Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache happens to be the latest installment of The Cake Slice. I guess the title kinda tells it all, right? You start with a white cake, softly flavored with banana purée. The tall layers are stacked with a white chocolate ganache frosting that has sugared pecans folded through. Then the cake gets frosted with the remainder of the ganache, and decorated with the rest of the pecans. I halved the original recipe to make a six-inch layer cake. Normally, I get six servings from a six-incher, but this cake was so toweringly high that I was able to get eight!
I will admit that I did not make the sugared pecans according to the recipe’s directions, which call for deep frying. I didn’t want to use up half a bottle of oil to fry off a few nuts, so I dry-toasted them in a skillet instead. Then I added a pat of butter, a couple spoonfuls of brown sugar and a sprinkle of salt, and cooked the nuts until the sugar and butter made a glaze. I use this technique to make crunchy candied nuts for snacks and salads all the time, and it works really well.
As someone who is not terribly fond of white chocolate, it surprises me to say that I thought the ganache frosting/filling was the star of the show! The banana cake definitely has the texture of a white cake, rather than something more banana bready, and the flavor is gentle, too. It goes so well with the frosting, which is made by mixing ganache into softly whipped unsweetend cream. The whipped cream really mellows out and tones down the tooth-achy sweetness of the white chocolate, and the resulting frosting is soft, light and decadent. I will definitely be using this recipe again, as it’s super-good and much less rich than a traditional whipped ganache frosting (which I have described here and here).
All-in-all, this was a delicious cake…and one I’m really glad I made! Here’s a printable link to the recipe (better yet, get your hands on a copy of Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alicia Huntsman and Peter Wynne), and cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers to check out all of our banana cakes this month.
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a whisk and a spoon 
Oh my, a delicious cake indeed!!
Comment by VeggieGirl— January 20, 2009 #
I also enjoyed the melage of flavors in this cake. It was perfection.
Comment by JoAnn— January 20, 2009 #
I wuoldn’t mind a big slice of this fantastic cake !
Comment by mary— January 20, 2009 #
Great looking cake and I can understand you not wanting to deep fry the pecans. I didn’t either.
Comment by Jo— January 20, 2009 #
Your cake is beautiful!!!!! It looks divine!
Comment by juju73— January 20, 2009 #
This cake looks gorgeous! Well done on another great bake from The Cake Slice…
Rosie x
Comment by Rosie— January 20, 2009 #
I loved the ganache, too! It was wonderful!
Comment by Jodie— January 20, 2009 #
I so need to get this book!
Comment by Mari— January 20, 2009 #
this looks seriously amazing. i love bananas, but i kind of fear those big tall layer cakes. i used to hate white chocolate but i’m really coming around to it lately.
Comment by Karen— January 20, 2009 #
Picture perfect cake! 🙂 It looks so tall and dreamy …yum!
Comment by Gigi— January 20, 2009 #
that looks so delicious. I like the sound of the ganache and will have to try that
Comment by Tammy— January 20, 2009 #
I love making banana cakes and you make this sound so great! Glad you chose to do something different with the pecans. Cannot imagine deep frying them. Looks great!
Comment by Gretchen Noelle— January 20, 2009 #
Steph – your cake is lovely. I also agree about the fried pecans. YOur way seems sooooo much better. And the frosting was good, wasn’t it. Great job on the cake.
Comment by teaandscones— January 20, 2009 #
The more I see this cake the more I want to make it. It looks gorgeous!
Comment by pinkstripes— January 20, 2009 #
what a delicious looking cake ! yummy 🙂
Comment by snooky doodle— January 20, 2009 #
My cake was super dry, but your’s look great! I wonder what I did wrong?!
Comment by Melissa— January 20, 2009 #
Oh no, Melissa– have you ever been suspicious of your oven’s temperature? My oven was overbaking stuff, so I got a thermometer and found it’s a whopping 75 degrees off!!
Comment by steph (whisk/spoon)— January 20, 2009 #
Both cakes look GREAT! Way to go with the Berry Surprise! Love the purple blackberries!
Banana may be my favorite cake, this one looks over the top!
Comment by Katrina— January 20, 2009 #
I know! Ack! They are on the same day. Anyway, your cake looks wonderful of course! I was surprised by how good the ganache was as well – I was even happier that mine actually turned out though!
Comment by Holly— January 20, 2009 #
Perfect looking cake with perfect layers….It was a treat wasn’t it?
Comment by rachel— January 20, 2009 #
your cake looks great, andd yummi!!
Comment by Mimi— January 21, 2009 #
Your cake looks perfect! I love the layers!!
Comment by Maria— January 21, 2009 #
I don’t think I’ve wished you and yours a Happy New Year yet, so HAPPY NEW YEAR!
How’s the house/apt hunting going? Settled back in to the pace of the city?
Comment by Cynthia— January 21, 2009 #
Gorgeous looking cake. Good idea about skillet-toasting the pecans, I will try that.
Comment by Caroline— January 21, 2009 #
You can just read the ingredients or look at it to see how well this would come together.
Comment by Jeanna— January 22, 2009 #
LOL, I know what you mean by having two blog events on the same day (although I didn’t do TWD this week)… it seems to always throw me off a little.
Your cake looks positively scrumptious. I love those close up shots… makes me want to lick the computer screen, LOL.
Comment by Jacque— January 22, 2009 #
what a gorgeous cake, it looks so moist! i wish i made more cakes, but they are not as easy to share so who would eat it all?!
Comment by mimi— January 22, 2009 #
This looks simply delish! Well done Steph!
Comment by Dharm— January 23, 2009 #
WoW!!! This cake looks amazing. Great photos as well
Comment by zestycook— January 23, 2009 #
banana and praline…that combo might just make me dance! 😉
Comment by Chris— January 25, 2009 #
this cake looks beautiful! i’m definitely bookmarking this as it would make a perfect birthday cake.
Comment by kickpleat— January 25, 2009 #
I would love to be a part of “The Cake Slice”. How do I get started? Thanks …
Comment by debbmarie— January 26, 2009 #
debbmarie– You’d have to check with Gigi (of the blog http://www.gigicakes.net) to see if she’s still accpeting new members into the group.
Comment by steph (whisk/spoon)— January 26, 2009 #
If you actually have been subsisting on an all-cake diet for the past week or so, then you are my hero!
lol. This cake looks like heaven on a platter. Will definitely be trying!
Comment by Abbie— January 26, 2009 #
I’m going to find this recipe right now. Your description makes it sound comparable to heaven! I’ve always wanted a banana cake recipe that wasn’t so heavy. Thanks!
Comment by howtoeatacupcake— January 29, 2009 #
Yum! I’ve made lots of banana bread but never banana cake. This looks professional and your photos are flawless!
Comment by Maris— February 5, 2009 #
I would like to make this for a baptism of my children. I am expecting 17 adult guests and 4 toddlers. What would your suggestion be for sizing the recipe?
Comment by Iwona Manuel— August 2, 2010 #
you could make the recipe twice and assemble two full cakes. that would probably do it, because the three-layer cakes are quite large. if you are thinking of a rectangular or square cake, let me know and we can discuss further.
Comment by steph (whisk/spoon)— August 2, 2010 #
Hi ! I absolutly want to make this cake but the link doesn’t work …
Can I have the recipe ?
Sorry for my mistakes, I’m french and I love americain cake !
Comment by Julie— January 23, 2013 #
Hello! Sorry, I know i have a few broken links here and there. I’ll try to fix those at some point, but in the meantime, check out this post. She has made the cake and has the recipe, along with amazing photos!
http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2010/03/banana-cake-with-praline-filling-and-white-chocolate-ganache.html
Comment by steph (whisk/spoon)— January 23, 2013 #