All posts by Melissa

Strawberry Banana Crumb Cake {recipe}

Strawberry Banana Crumb CakeThis is a very exciting time!  A fun and creative set of Kosher bloggers and I formed a cute little club just about a year ago.  Once a month we like to challenge ourselves and choose one topic to all blog about.  It has been a lot of fun and I have made some great friends in the process!  This month we wanted to celebrate by doing something a little different: a Great Blog Swap!  We were randomly matched with another blog and asked to use a recipe found by a fellow blogger to inspire a new dish.  I was assigned Bizzy Bakes.  She had a lot of dessert recipes for me to dig into, but none of them really inspired me.  I wanted to do something different and fun.  Then I came across this strawberry banana smoothie recipe and the wheels started turning.  I knew I had to make a strawberry banana cake! I’ve never heard of one and it’s weird because strawberries and bananas are a match made in dessert heaven!

Springform Strawberry Banana Crumb CakeI have to admit, this was my second attempt at a strawberry banana dessert.  My first try involved a bundt pan and way too much strawberry jam.  The cake tasted delicious, but looked like a mess and I was not a happy camper.  Instead of trying to perfect a bundt cake, I went more rustic with a round crumb cake baked in a springform pan.  This recipe would also work nicely in classic 9×13 inch cake pan, but I have something against baking in squares and rectangles.  I can never get each piece to be exactly the same size and that bugs me every time.

Strawberry Banana Crumb Cake Slice

I combined a bunch of different recipes to create the perfect crumb cake.  The banana cake layer is moist and dense.  I cut the sugar in the cake because the strawberry pie filling is extremely sweet and cutting back on the sugar in the cake helps to balance out the sweetness.  The crumbs bake up brown and crunchy, a perfect balance to the tender cake. I know I used canned pie filling and if that’s not your thing, make your own filling.  I like to cut corners once in a while.  I can whip this cake up in a pinch as long as I have some pie filling in the cupboard, and it looks absolutely beautiful.  Best of all, my recipe is non-dairy and printable!

Strawberry Banana Crumb Cake
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 16
 
Ingredients
  • 1-21 ounce can strawberry pie filling
Cake
  • ½ cup margarine (I used earth balance buttery sticks)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 overripe bananas
  • 2 cups flour
  • ¾ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
Crumb Topping
  • ¼ cup margarine, melted (I used earth balance buttery sticks)
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup flour
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Grease and flour a 9x3 inch round springform pan.
  3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat margarine and sugar until combined.
  4. Add in the vanilla and the eggs and mix until combined.
  5. Add the bananas and mix until broken down.
  6. Finally add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until incorporated.
  7. Pour into prepared springform pan and spread evenly.
  8. Top with the strawberry pie filling.
  9. Prepare the crumb topping by melting the margarine and mixing it with the sugars, flour, cinnamon, and salt.
  10. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the strawberry layer.
  11. Bake for 55-60 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

This blog swap was super fun, now here’s where you can get in on the action.  We are hosting an amazing giveaway!  We are giving away two prizes from Emile Henry. A Bread Cloche valued at $130 and a 4.2 qt Dutch Oven valued at $170! Use the Rafflecopter below to enter- you can enter up to 23 ways! Two winners will be chosen at random.

Giveaway Prizes

The contest winners will be contacted via email. They will have 48 hours to respond before other winners are chosen. This contest is open to United States residents over the age of 18.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are all the recipes from the other creative blog swap participants; enjoy!


Offset Chevron Cake

Offset Chevron CakeI was asked by a fellow blogger and friend, Ronnie Fein, to make her a special birthday cake.  Ronnie has a lovely blog called Kitchen Vignettes where she shares her favorite dishes.  Her recipes often seem simple, but they are complex and perfect in flavor.  When she asked me to help her celebrate her special day I was so excited, especially since she left me in charge of the design.

Offset Chevron Pattern

I am really in love with modern patterns and love applying those simple clean lines to my cakes.  I recently took a Craftsy course (my new obsession) led by Jessica Harris and learned the techniques needed to make this cake.  I couldn’t wait to try it and I love the results.  The offset chevron is so modern yet elegant and I’m pleased with the color choices.

Fantasy FlowerThis hand cut fantasy flower was the perfect finishing touch to this simple cake.  I painted the edges with a little silver luster dust to give it a little extra glam.  If you were wondering, the inside of the cake is a white cake recipe that Ronnie shared with me.  It was delicious!  You can see her post about this cake here.  Happy birthday Ronnie, and many more!

 

Minnie Mouse Clubhouse Cake

Minnie Mouse Clubhouse CakeApparently, my Baby Mickey Cake and my small Minnie Mouse Cake are of my most popular posts every day.  I made this cake a few months ago, but never got around to posting it until now.

Mickey's Fondant Clubhouse

Even though I know how popular Mickey Mouse is with little kids, I’m always surprised at how popular those cakes are.  My 2 1/2 year old son loves watching Mickey Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so when I was making this cake for Libby, he kept asking to have it.  I was so excited when he knew what the theme of the cake was.  He even recognized the clubhouse!

Fondant GearsEven though this cake was for a little girl, I love the color scheme.  I am usually asked to make pink and purple cakes for girls; it was nice to make something more bold yet delicate.  The gears were made of fondant.  I cut out circles, then used a small round piping tip to cut out the centers.  Then I cut 8 notches out using a baby bottle cookie cutter.  I used the tip of the nipple because it is more of a U shape, but you can probably use a small circle or piping tip to cut out notches.

Minnie Mouse Cake TopperMy favorite part of the cake is the topper.  I baked some cake in a small glass bowl to get the perfect rounded shape.  I cut the ears out of fondant and allowed them to dry.  Then I attached them to lollipop sticks using black royal icing and inserted them into the topper.  I used black royal icing to attach the ears to the cake for added support.  The fondant bow was also made in advance.  I attached the dry fondant bow to the ears and in the center and added the center of the bow once the bow was dry.  The lettering was cut out of red fondant.  I think the lettering really puts this cake over the top.  I used my airbrush to spray the topper with pearl shimmer to give it just a bit more girlishness.

Minnie Mouse Birthday CakeLibby loved her birthday cake! Happy 2nd Birthday!