TWD: Lots of Ways Banana Cake

I made this one a week early. Surprised? I know...especially since even though I did it so early, I'm only now making the post about it. Halfway through Tuesday, and my TWD is just now going up. It's appalling. I know.

But let's talk cake!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities. Be sure to check out her site for this yummy, moist recipe.


And this really was yummy. It's very much like a banana bread, but it's brought to another level by baking it in layers and frosting. Yum Yum.

There's a reason why this is called Lots of Ways Banana Cake. Dorie gives lots of variations on this cake so that you can make it how you want it and with what ingredients you have on hand. I didn't have a lot of brown sugar, so I made this with all white sugar. And while I technically have shredded coconut, it's expired, and I didn't want to mess with it. And I didn't have coconut milk, so I substituted with buttermilk. The result was a very, very moist, very banana-y cake. You should definitely try it.

I topped mine with marshmallow frosting. This was my first time trying to make marshmallow frosting, and I'm not so sure it went exactly to plan. First of all, one of my beaters for my mixer went missing, so I enlisted my hubby to whip the egg whites for me with a hand beater (you know the kind with the wheel that you turn). I knew it would take longer to whip by hand than with a machine, so I had him start on it right away while I worked on the syrup. Well, the syrup took a really, really long time. And, top that all of with me burning it. So....I had to make the syrup again. All the while, the egg whites are in firm peaks. I checked on them in the middle of my second batch, and while the outside looked nice, the egg whites were starting to deflate underneath it's pretty exterior. So I tried whipping them again. I don't know if you can actually do that, but I tried. Anyways, the second batch of syrup turned out well, and I made the frosting. It looked alright, but it was a little softer than I had imagined it would be. But it tasted good, and the first day my cake looked wonderful. This was not the day I decided to take the pictures.

The second day, the frosting got all foamy and started kinda disintegrating. It didn't look as nice, but it still tasted good. I don't know if this is normal for marshmallow frosting, but I think it probably has to do with my egg whites being overwhipped or the fact that the egg whites here are very, very watery.

But don't let my tales of woe over my frosting deter you. Dorie also gives lots of choices for how to top the cake, some which are way easier, so really, go make this...now! And check out how the other TWDers who made this did. I'm sure theirs are beautiful and will make your mouth water!