Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 Package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cold
  • 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 3/4 Cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Ganache
  • 8 Ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 3/4 Cup heavy cream
Cake
  • 2 Cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 Tsp. salt
  • 1 1/3 Cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 Cup vegetable oil
  • 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 Cup buttermilk, divided
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
Filling
  • 1/2 Package (16 ounces) Driscoll's Strawberries
  • 1 Tsp. granulated sugar
Cake
  1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F.
  2. BUTTER OR COAT lightly with cooking spray two 8-inch round cake pans.
  3. LINE bottom of pans with rounds of parchment paper.
  4. SPRAY paper lightly with cooking spray.
  5. DUST paper with flour and TAP OUT excess flour.
  6. PLACE 2 cups all-purpose flour into a medium bowl.
  7. ADD 1 teaspoon baking soda and ADD 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  8. WHISK ingredients together and SET ASIDE flour mixture.
  9. PLACE 1/4 cup vegetable oil into bowl of an electric mixer.
  10. ADD 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar and BEAT mixture until completely combined.
  11. ADD 2 eggs, 4 mashed bananas, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
  12. BEAT mixture until completely combined.
  13. ADD one-third of flour mixture and BEAT on low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
  14. ADD 1/2 cup buttermilk and BEAT on low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
  15. ADD half of remaining flour mixture and BEAT on low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
  16. ADD remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk and BEAT on low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
  17. ADD remaining flour mixture and BEAT on low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
  18. DIVIDE batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
  19. BAKE 28 to 32 minutes or until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
  20. ALLOW cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes then TURN OUT onto wire racks to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. PLACE 8 ounces cream cheese into the bowl of an electric mixer.
  2. ADD 5 tablespoons butter.
  3. BEAT on medium-high speed until light and fluffy and SCRAPE sides of bowl as needed.
  4. ADD 2 ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar gradually while BEATING on low speed.
  5. ADD 2 tablespoon vanilla extract and BEAT until light and fluffy.
Filling
  1. HULL and DICE half of strawberries.
  2. ADD 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and STIR strawberry mixture briefly.
  3. PLACE one cake layer onto a serving platter.
  4. COVER cake layer with strawberry mixture and TOP top with the second cake layer.
  5. FROST cake evenly with cream cheese frosting and FINISH frosting as smoothly as possible.
  6. REFRIGERATE cake at least 1 hour or until frosting is firm.
Ganache
  1. PLACE 8 ounces chocolate into a medium bowl and SET ASIDE.
  2. PLACE ¾ cup heavy cream into a small saucepan and COOK over medium heat just until beginning to steam. Do not overcook.
  3. POUR hot cream over chocolate and ALLOW mixture to rest about 2 minutes.
  4. WHISK chocolate mixture gradually until ganache is completely smooth.
  5. SET ASIDE ganache until somewhat cool yet still pourable.
Assembly
  1. POUR ganache slowly over top of cake in the center and ALLOW ganache to push itself outward to flow over the sides of cake.
  2. REMOVE stems from remaining strawberries and PRESS gently into ganache on top of cake.
  3. REFRIGERATE cake at least 30 minutes or until ganache is firm.
  4. SERVE immediately or STORE cake in refrigerator.
Calories 471.29
Total Fat 20.77 g
Saturated Fat 10.52 g
Cholesterol 68.46 mg
Sodium 413.44 mg
Total Carbohydrates 67.31 g
Dietary Fiber 2.93 g
Protein 5.45 g