The Story:
I always swore to myself that I wouldn’t start doing cakes until I got married. It’s a whole other set of stuff and I have zero extra room as it is. Well there isn’t a ring on my finger but there will be a cake section in my next cookbook. So I have to start practicing! This was definitely a learning experience. Somehow the cake just kept getting uglier and uglier as I went on. So I have no learned that less is more.
I kept trying to recall episodes I’ve seen on the Food Network. Paula and Sandra make is seem so easy! I want to decorate using no fondant and doing things that normal people like me and probably you. If you are a pastry chef or a professional baker… I don’t consider you “normal.”
So what advice do you have? Have a favorite way you like to decorate your cakes? I’m trying to learn the photography as well…
Stay with me, they WILL get prettier. I mean, look at one of my first cupcake posts, they were pretty lame looking…
Banana Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
Ingredients
Banana Cake:
- 2 boxes white cake mix
- 6 bananas ripe and mashed well
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 C. oil
- 1 1/3 C. buttermilk or milk
- 3/4 C. sour cream
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tsp. cinnamon
Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting:
- 1 1/4 C. butter softened
- 2/3 C. chocolate hazelnut spread Nutella
- 1 C. cocoa powder unsweetened
- 4-5 C. powdered sugar
- 3 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-4 Tbsp. milk
Chopped Hazelnuts to decorate
Instructions
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1. Preheat oven to 345 degrees and line pans with parchment paper on the bottom and grease the sides.
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2. Sift cake mixes into a bowl to remove lumps and set aside.
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3. In a large bowl, combine bananas, eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla extract and cinnamon until smooth.
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4. Stir in cake mix.
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5. Divide evenly into 3 round pans.
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6. Bake for about 27-35 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. (I baked two of the pans and then the other one separately.)
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7. Let cool completely.
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8. To make buttercream beat butter and hazelnut spread. Add cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and add 1 Tablespoon of milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency. You will want a looser consistency than you would have for cupcakes.
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9. To assemble, center your first layer of baked cake on your cake plate, then frost the top of that cake...then put another layer of cake...then another layer of frosting...then cake...then frost the entire cake! Use chopped hazelnuts to decorate.
Frosting the second layer..
3 Layers…
Take little rectangles of parchment paper and slip them under the cake the keep your cake plate clean when decorating (This really did help)
Pretty…(This is when I started to get prideful and thought I could master this)
Smothered the outside with chopped chocolate… bad idea. I used melts which MELTED in my hands while I did it (I shouldn’t have been surprised) and I think it looked prettier before anyway.
Rimmed the cake with hazelnuts…trying to make it look “fancy”
It took a lot of courage to cut through this thing. I need to use more frosting on the inside next time for a better looking slice.
Like I said, I learned a lot this first time venturing into cakes. Learn with me.
I think your cake is gorgeous! I am a terrible cake frost-er which is why I rarely make them. But I do have a couple tools that make things easier from Wilton.
I find that a whole bunch of rosettes piped closely side-by-side on the cake always make an impressive looking product. Likewise, using thinner layers require less frosting between them to look full.
I bake a lot of cakes at home. I love it. It is my passion.
Here are my tips.
1. Make sure your frosting that you crumb coat the cake in and frost it in is spreading consistency.
2. Get a turntable and offset spatula. Wilton sells one for about $20.00. It makes things way easier.
3. If filling your cake with a filling, make sure to put a buttercream dam around the cake to keep the filling inside.
4. Always crumb coat your cakes. I will assemble my cake, frost it with a very thin layer of frosting, stick it in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then frost it for the final time making sure not to pull off the frosting from the crumb coat.
5. I do not use fondant to decorate my cakes. I don’t like the taste and for a home baker like me, it is way too much work! I decorate my cakes with fruit, chocolate covered strawberries, candy, nuts, coconut, frosting that has been tinted with gel colors and I use wilton decorating tips to do shell borders, buttercream roses like on I am baker, swirls, etc. Cakes taste better when they are decorated with food, not fondant. I would rather have a great tasting cake then some thing that look like an art project.
6. When I use whipped cream to frost a cake, I always stabalize it with knox gelatin and use a good amount of powdered sugar.
Those are my tips for now. I hope they can help you. It takes practice, but you are already a great baker and cupcake decorator and this cake actually looks pretty amazing so I do not think you have anything to worry about :))
~Vanessa~
Oh yeah, I also use a bench scraper to smooth the frosting 🙂
Genius!
Will you share the recipe for your staialized whipped cream? I love trying different recipes to see which one I like best. 🙂
I think your cake looks great! I have decorated 5 or 6 cakes and sometimes the more you work with them the worse they get…you have to learn when to stop. I focus on great tasting cakes with simple piping and decorations. I top a few cakes or cupcakes with fondant decorations but not a fan of the whole cake covered with it. I much prefer the way you have fancied up this cake. So when can we expect the next cookbook?????
The new book will probably be out next March! Plan on one book every year from me for a while… 🙂
I agree with the comments above. I tend to be a perfectionist and the more I mess with the cake and frosting, the more “messed up” it gets and the more frustrated I end up. I think your cake looks gorgeous, though. Simple and classy, which is good because when a cake tastes awesome, you don’t have to worry about it looking crazy awesome. I would rather have a good tasting cake with a simple decoration than a dry sub-par cake decorated with fondant and tons of other things.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3516277587138.164268.1277931136&type=1&l=4165c683ed
I figured out how to share an album from facebook with some of my cake decorating ideas 🙂 Hope it helps 🙂
Thank you for your tips and your cakes are all beautiful!
You are welcome and thank you so much 🙂
Do you consider using icing bags with tips professional? Because I’m definitely not professional but love discovering new and unique techniques to do with a tip involved.
I’m the worst cake decorator in all of the baking world. I have horrible hand eye coordination and my hands inevitably start shaking as soon as I try to add the teensiest bit of detail to my frosting.
We are often our own worst critics. I think your cake looks lovely!
P.S…. I have found that freezing the cake layers before I frost them helps to keep the crumbs from tumbling into my frosting. A turntable has also been my lifesaver! It keeps the cake steady when my hands won’t cooperate
Could this be made with one mix and reduce everything else by half and still get 3 layers? Most layer cakes that I make I use one mix and get 3 layers.
Yes and yes! They will be thinner layers but I think I will be doing that for my next cake recipe
A whole cake mix will fit into a 3″ deep 8″ round Wilton pan. Add flower nail and bake-even strips (see my post below), then bake for about an hour. This can then be cut into thirds and decorated.
Looks great to me!
Your cake looks incredible!
I have been making a lot of cakes lately. It’s fun and such a learning experience. I love the tip about putting parchment paper underneath the cake. Great idea. And I won’t lie I could defo eat a slice or two of this cake 🙂
As a someone who has decorated cakes for years, including many wedding cakes, and as a former Wilton instructor, please believe me when I say that you are off to a fantastic start!!! Vanessa and several other people shared some great advice, which I would like to add to:
1. Invest in some Bake-Even Strips. Soak in water, gently squeeze (not wring) the excess moisture out, then wrap them around your cake pans. This slows the baking on the edges of the pan so the cake doesn’t have a high crown to cut off.
2. When making large cakes, I put a metal Flower Nail point-side-up in the center of the pan. This transfers heat to the middle of the cake, so it bakes faster.
3. Use some sort of baking spray that contains flour. Be generous with it.
4. When the cake is done baking, let it sit in the pan about 10 minutes. Place a paper-towel covered cooling rack on the top then gently flip it over. It should come out easily, if not, give it another minute or two. Remove the flower nail (if using) and place a paper towel and second cooling rack on the bottom of the cake, then flip it back right-side-up. Let it cool completely before cutting.
5. Buy a Cake-Leveler!!! This adjustable cutter makes it easy to have all your layers the same size. As stated, a Turntable and Offset Spatula are also critical.
6. When you make your frosting dam, use Wilton tip 12 and frosting with a stiff consistency so it can support the weight of the upper layers without collapsing. Have it the same color you plan on icing the cake. This is essential if you use cherry pie filling or chocolate frosting to fill a cake that you want to ice white.
7. Cakes can be filled with all kinds of fun stuff. If using frosting, I like it soft, and will add things like crushed Oreos or candy bars for excitement. I also like to let the cake sit overnight (after icing) to let the filling’s moisture permeate the whole cake, and have had many compliments on how moist my cakes are.
8. When you ice the cake, try using frosting that has a fairly soft consistency. You can add Meringue Powder if you want. It will cause the frosting to crust up better, which is handy for decorating. Many decorators like to ice the top first, then the sides, coming back to smooth the top last.
9. Many decorators will freeze or crumb-coat their cakes, but I seldom do either. Try it both ways and see which works best for you.
10. Store-bought fondant is indeed nasty, which is why I always make my own. It’s a bit messy to make, so prepare it a day or two in advance, but you end up with a delicious edible play-dough that can make really beautiful cakes. Fondant also survives transport better than icing, so I actually prefer it for weddings. Many brides go from saying “fondant is gross!” to “fondant is great!” after tasting the homemade type. Lots of recipes are available online, and can be flavored any way you like. Many people start with Marshmallow Fondant (MMF), but if you don’t care for that flavor, there are lots of other recipes available, including some for White Chocolate Fondant that I think you would really like.
11. When transporting cakes (or cupcakes), I place a piece of that textured shelf liner under both the cake and the box I’m transporting it in. This helps prevent it from sliding around and being damaged.
Considering all the talent and creativity you already have, I look forward to seeing some incredible cakes here really soon. Good luck!!!
So beautiful!! You always amaze me!
Idk what you’re talking about, that cake looks awesome! My first layered cake was nowhere as prettty as this. By the way, I’ve never tried parchment paper strips underneathe my cake. I always worry they’ll somehow stick to the cake and won’t come out easily…did you have any problems with it?
No problems at all!
Still looks great! Well done.
that looks really pretty lizzy! and it sounds good too!!!
Love the look of this cake. I do like to do cakes better. But they always look homemade. I do have a question. on my emails now I never get the recipes any more. Did you change formats? I miss them being in my inbox. You have done a great job and thank for sharing recipes with every one.
do you not get any emails from the site? Or just the recipe doesn’t show up in the email itself?
I would really like to make this cake but I do not like the taste of cocoa powder in frosting recipes. Can you make this frosting with melted chocolate and if so how much should I use???? Thanks
You can just do a vanilla or a cream cheese frosting recipe from another one of my cupcakes. Banana goes really well with lots of flavors!
What would the baking time/temperature be if you split the recipe in half?
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