My son told me he was bringing his new girlfriend over for dinner. I wanted to make something really special in her honor. I know that my son loves strawberries and I love the way they taste with bananas so I decided on a Banana Cream Cake with Strawberry Cream filling.

I had never made a cream cake before so I was surprised to find no butter in the recipe and I was a little bit worried that it had been left out but decided to go ahead with it anyway. I am SO glad I did!

First I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. Then I greased two nine inch round cake pans.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat eggs until light and foamy.

Add flavorings.

Add sugar gradually.

Add flour mixture alternately with cream, beating after each addition until just smooth.

Pour batter into two 9″ greased round cake pans and bake for 40 minutes or until done.

Combine sugar and water in a heavy small saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Stir in creme de banana.

After the cakes have cooled, brush them with the simple syrup.

Mash the strawberries.

Whip cream in large chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add Grand Marnier and sugar and beat on high speed until spreading consistency.

Fold in mashed strawberries.

Spread this mixture between layers and add sliced banana on top of bottom layer.

Add remaining mixture on top and sides of cake.

This is truly one of the most spectacular desserts I have ever made and eaten! The cake was dense but moist. The cream filling/frosting was superb. Sweet, fresh and creamy. I know you will agree that it is FABU, too!

Ingredients
CAKE

3 cup Flour sifted
1 tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Salt
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
2 tbs Creme de banana
1 1/2 cup Sugar
2 cup Heavy cream

SIMPLE SYRUP

1/3 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Water
4 tablespoon Creme de banana

STRAWBERRY FILLING

1 1/2 cup Whipping cream
3/4 cup fresh or frozen strawberries mashed
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
3 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 medium bananas sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Beat eggs until light and foamy. Add flavorings. Add sugar gradually. Add flour mixture alternately with cream, beating after each addition until just smooth.

Pour batter into two 9″ greased round cake pans and bake for 40 minutes or until done. Cool on racks and then brush with Simple Syrup.

Simple Syrup: Combine sugar and water in a heavy small saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in creme de banana.

Strawberry Frosting: Whip cream in large chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add Grand Marnier and sugar and beat on high speed until spreading consistency. Fold in mashed strawberries. Spread this mixture between layers and add sliced banana on top of bottom layer. Add remaining mixture on top and sides of cake.

Lauri Rottmayer is the author of the FABU Highway. When she’s not traveling the Highway, Lauri directs The Mrs. Oklahoma International Pageant, a competition for married Oklahoma women from ages 21-56.

You can visit Lauri’s websites at www.FABUHighway.wordpress.com and www.TheMrsOklahomaPageant.com.

Tags: banana, creme de banana, grand marnier, strawberries, whipped cream