Strawberry and banana cake with a whipped cream frosting. Perfect for baby and for first birthday smash cakes, delicious for parents, too!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time22 minutesmins
Total Time32 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Baby Led Weaning, Baby Led Weaning Friendly
Servings: 16", two layer cake
Calories: 2610kcal
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
1 ¼cup (180 g)all purpose flour
1 tspbaking powder
½tspbaking soda
Wet Ingredients
2largebananas (about 1 cup pureed)
¼cupfreeze dried strawberries, powdered(a little more than 1/2 cup strawberry slices)
¼ cupmilk
1egg
1tspvanilla extract
Frosting
1 cupheavy whipping cream
2tbsp-1/4 cupfreeze dried strawberries, powdered(about 1/2 cup strawberry slices)
Instructions
The Cake
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two 6" cake pans by placing parchment paper in the bottom of them. Grease and flour the parchment paper and sides to prevent the cake from sticking and ensure an even surface.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
1 1/4 cup (180 g) all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda
In a small bowl, mash bananas with a fork until they are a fairly smooth puree texture.
2 large bananas (about 1 cup pureed)
Add freeze dried strawberries to a zip-loc bag and seal. Use a rolling pin or a drinking glass to crush the strawberries into a fine powder. Some bigger chunks are ok, but you want them as small as possible.
1/4 cup freeze dried strawberries, powdered
Add powdered strawberries and remaining wet ingredients to the bananas and mix thoroughly.
1/4 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add wet ingredients to dry. Mix until just combined.
Pour half of mixture into each of the prepared pans and place in oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (My oven takes 22 minutes.)
Remove pans from oven. Let cool in pan for five minutes before running a knife around the edges to remove the cakes from the pans. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
The Frosting
Add whipping cream to the bowl of a mixer, and beat on medium to high speed (depending on your mixer) until stiff peaks form. For best results, place your bowl and beaters into the freezer to cool before beating.
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Add sliced strawberries to the zip-loc bag and crush into powder, as above. If you plan to use a piping tip for your cake, be sure to crush the strawberries into a very fine powder or they will block your tip.
2 tbsp-1/4 cup freeze dried strawberries, powdered
Gently fold powdered strawberries into whipped cream until evenly dispersed. Start with two tbsp, adding more to taste.
Place one completely cooled layer onto a plate. Ensure the top is level by slicing off any domed area.
Add a spoonful of frosting to the top of the bottom layer and spread evenly. Place the next cake layer on top.
Use the remaining frosting to cover all cake surfaces. Pipe decoration around the edges and top if desired. The recipe makes enough frosting to cover the cake generously, if you plan to do a lot of decorative work you will need to increase the amount of frosting.
Keep the finished cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.