Banana Split Cake

I think the weather around here has got me in the mood for refrigerated desserts. Something cold, sweet and smooth, yeah that’s what I’m in the mood for.   To Read More, Click On The Recipe Title.

This is a spin off on a dessert I use to make years ago called Banana Split Dessert. I made this cake once before but with a box mix, instant vanilla pudding and Cool Whip. Today I wanted to see what it would be like if I made it entirely from scratch. I started out with a white cake recipe, it doesn’t matter what recipe any one you have, make it in a 13×9 inch baking pan. My next thought was what do I replace the instant vanilla pudding with? I decided to try my hand at pastry cream, I never ( I thought) made pastry cream before, well it turns out pastry cream is basically homemade vanilla pudding. I use to make homemade pudding when the kids were little, the technique for the pastry cream was slightly different but easy. So I’m thinking, so far so good. The homemade cake was easy,not any harder than making a cake from a box really, the pastry cream took as long as it would to make a vanilla pudding from a box that you cook, yeah so far I’m doing ok. Then I start thinking about what I’m going to use instead of the Cool Whip, the obvious choice would be whipped cream. Yes whipped cream, but how do I make it keep as long as Cool Whip? Then I remembered Cookie found a recipe on The Taste Of Home Forum and it was called Chef’s Secret Whipped Cream. This recipe used unflavored gelatin to make the whipped cream have the staying power of Cool Whip. I’m all set!

I made the cake and the pastry cream. Let them both cool , the cake cooled on the counter, the pastry cream in the fridge. When they were both cooled I spread the pastry cream on top of the cake, I used all the pastry cream I had made. Then I started slicing my bananas and strawberries to place on top of the pastry cream. I used enough of both to cover the top,maybe 3 or 4 bananas and a pint of strawberries. I had some crushed pineapple in the fridge so I put that on as well. This is what it looked like .

Pretty!! I made the recipe for the whipped cream adding the unflavored gelatin and spread that on top and added some crushed peanuts.

I waited to put the cherries on it till I served it because I didn’t want them bleeding onto the whipped cream.

This dessert was good made with the boxed cake, instant pudding and Cool Whip, but the whipped cream on this makes this soooo much better. From now on anything I made using Cool Whip will be replaced with the recipe for the whipped cream! There isn’t a real recipe for this, just use any white cake and pastry cream recipe you have. But I will give you the recipe for the Whipped Cream

I had to double this recipe to get enough to cover a 13×9 inch baking pan they way I wanted it covered.

CHEF’S SECRET WHIPPED CREAM

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS WHIPPED CREAM

1 ENVELOPE KNOX UNFLAVORED GELATIN
1/4 C. COLD WATER
2 C. (1 PT.) WHIPPING OR HEAVY CREAM
1/2 C. CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR

CHILL LARGE MIXING BOWL @ LEAST 15 MINUTES. MEANWHILE, IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN, SPRINKLE UNFLAVORED GELATIN OVER COLD WATER; LET STAND 1 MINUTE. STIR OVER LOW HEAT UNTIL GELATIN IS COMPLETELY DISSOLVED, ABOUT 2 MINUTES. IN CHILLED BOWL, WHILE BEATING CREAM ON LOW SPEED, GRADUALLY ADD GELATIN MIXTURE, THEN BEAT ON MEDIUM SPEED UNTIL THICKENED, ABOUT 5 MINUTES. ADD SUGAR, THEN BEAT UNTIL SOFT PEAKS FORM, ABOUT 2 MINUTES.HINT– IF YOU PLAN TO PIPE THE CREAM, WHIP CREAM UNTIL STIFF PEAKS FORM.VARIATION– FOR A FLAVORED WHIPPED CREAM, SIMPLY ADD YOUR FAVORITE EXTRACTS OR LIQUEURS, TO TASTE, WITH GELATIN MIXTURE, THEN PROCEED AS ABOVE..