Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate

Paired with sugary pecans (yes, they’re fried, but with all of the butter, cream and chocolate in this cake, it really doesn’t matter, does it?) and a whipped cream frosting lightly flavored with white chocoalate, this cake received thumbs up from all who tasted it. I’m not a big praline fan, so I’m not the best judge for taste.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 cups of cake flour3 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 7 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup of ripe mashed bananas
• 8 ounces of softened unsalted butter

Praline Filling:

• 1 and 1/2 cups white chocolate ganache
• 1 cup sugared pecans, cooled

Sugared Pecans:

• 1 and 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 3 cups vegetable oil

White Chocolate Ganache:

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 8 ounces of white chocolate chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper or wax paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside dry ingredients. In a food processor or blender, process the milk and banana into a smooth light puree. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. On medium high speed, beat in egg whites 2-3 at a time until smooth. Scraping down the sides of the bowl between egg additions.

With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and banana puree alternately in 2-3 additions, beating until just blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 1-minute. Divide the batter among the cake pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto a wired rack and remove the paper liners. Then cool completely one hour.

To assemble the cake, put one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with half of the praline filling, leaving a 1/4″-inch margin around the edges. place the second layer on top, again flat side up, cover it with remaining filling. Finally add the third layer and frost the sides and top with the white chocolate ganache. Garnish with sugared pecans.

Praline Filling

With a large chef’s knife chop the pecans. Or pulse in a food processor being careful not to turn into paste.

Add the sugared pecans to the white chocolate ganache and stir to mix well.

Sugared Pecans

Place the pecans in a medium sauce pan, add water to cover, and heat to a boiling.

Boil the pecans slowly until they are swollen and soft 5-8 minutes. Drain the nuts well in a sieve for about 5 minutes. (Do not pat dry; the nuts must remain damp.)

While the nuts are draining, heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan or deep fat fryer t0 350F degrees.

Set half of the nuts aside. Dust the remaining nuts in the sieve with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Shake the sieve to coat the nuts evenly, letting any excess sugar fall away. Immediately add the coated nuts to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown about 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon scoop the nuts out and drain them on several thickness of paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining nuts.

White Chocolate Ganache

Put the white chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl. In a small sauce bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for 1-minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the white chocolate cream stand until cooled to room temperature.

In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters beat the remaining 2 cups of heavy cream and vanilla until softly whipped. Stir in the white chocolate cream and beat until fairly stiff. taking care not over beat, which would cause the ganache to separate.

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