A backdated Benday
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 2:28AM 
For everyone kind enough to send birthday wishes to Benjamin, or to anyone interested, here is a peak at some of the birthday festivities. Thank you all for helping us celebrated our little man, and a special thank you to my brother for the above photograph.
This one of Ben's three cakes; spiced banana cake layers with carmelized banana filling, topped with brown sugar cream cheese frosting and a bit of salted mixed nut crumble.
Edited to add: For those interested in the recipe, the cake is a spiced variation on the banana layer cake with mascapone frosting from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. The frosting I use is Ina Garten's, with a bit of the icing sugar substituted for golden brown. Finally, I top it with a salted-nut praline crumble, of my own recipe.
Reader Comments (5)
One of out three cakes? Wow, this little one is truly lucky to have 3 cakes on his birthday.
Hope he had a wonderful party. Before you know it, he'll be 17, wanting his own car and talking about girls ;)
that looks amazing!
This looks too good. Where can I find the recipe?
You didn't mention how the cake tasted.... I was debating on making the cake myself, let me know if it's worth it!
Thanks
Linda, he's a bit spoiled - I'll admit. And having a Mummy that loves to bake does not help! One cake was one weekend with his one set of grandparents, the second on the following weekend with the other side of the family and friends, and the final was a teeny, tiny concoction with just Mummy and Daddy on his birthday proper (as it fell midweek).
Thank you, bbaking!
helene, I hope you've noticed my added note to the column - details are there!
shelia, the cake is a great one. It has been a requested recipe among our family ever since I first made it. The banana keeps the cake moist and rich, and I love the counterpoint of the slightly tangy cream cheese frosting. In fact, I sometimes cheat the sugar a bit in the frosting just to have a more pronounced contrast with the cake and filling. I hope you enjoy it!