Banana Split Cake Bites

My typical Friday night usually consists of the following:

Red wine.

Popcorn.

Dove Chocolate.

Endlessly mocking the women on Say Yes to the Dress. 

I swear it isn’t as pathetic as it sounds.  (OK, maybe it is. I have no shame. Those girls are insane).

 However, some weekends I actually act like a social human being.  I know- crazy sauce.  Sometimes I put on my good, not frayed at the bottom, jeans.  I throw on my shiny shoes.  I rock a cute shirt. I take public transit into lovely city of DC.  I reconnect with some of the coolest people I know. We stroll around The National Mall, visit a couple museums, and eat pizza slices the size of my forearm.  And we gaze at the Cherry Blossom trees that are the epitome of spring in DC.

 These trees are probably one of my favorite things about living here.  They’re absolutely gorgeous.  So in the spirit of the trees, I wanted to make something cherry-y.  Yeah, I know that cherries don’t come from cherry blossoms trees but for my sake, we’re just going to act like they do.  Coolness? Pretty please with a cherry on top? (see what I did there- I’m so clever;)

 My fav thing with a cherry on top? That’s a no brainer- A banana split.  But I really can’t bring myself to make (and then devour) an entire banana split.  No matter how much I would love to.  So I made the next best thing:  non-melting, bite-sized banana split cake balls.

Adapted from this recipe

What You’ll Need:

For the Cake

• 1 ½ cups Flour
• ½ Tbsp Baking Powder
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) Butter, room temp
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• ½ cup Milk

For the Filling

• ½ cup (1 stick) Butter, room temp
• 2 - 2½ cups Powdered Sugar
•  2 - 4 Tbsp Milk
• 1 pkg (3.4oz) Banana Cream Instant Pudding 

For the Topping

•  2 cups Chocolate Chips +  2 Tbsp Vegetable Shortening
• Maraschino Cherries
• Sprinkles

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepared a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray or butter/flour.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs to butter/sugar one at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next.  Add vanilla and milk and beat until combined.  Add flour mixture to wet ingredients slowly.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes.  Allow to cool fully (I threw mine in the freezer) before going onto the next step
4. Make your filling by beating all the ingredients together until light, fluffy, and fully combined. 
5. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, break up the cake into a fine crumb.  Then add the banana filling and mix until fully incorporated.  Line a baking sheet with wax paper.  Shape cake mixture into balls (I used a cookie scoop), place on baking sheet and freeze for an hour.
6. Melt chocolate and vegetable shortening in the microwave in 15 second increments until smooth.  Cover each cake ball in chocolate, place on a wire rack, and top with a cherry and sprinkles before the chocolate begins to solidify.  Allow to cool entirely before eating.
   

   

   
   

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