Banana bread is one of the first distinctly American baked goods I remember as a child. I was eager to emulate my glamorous stepmother, Barbara, so I was eager to adopt the same likes and tastes. An especially easy task when something as scrumptious as Barbara's banana bread is served.
My stepmother, Barbara, swept into my life on my sixth birthday party. The birthday balloons, the cake, and probably my dress were pink. (Note the Ninja is still dressed in pink.) My soon-to-be stepmother stepped into the room and all eyes turned. Barbara exudes charm. It’s a good thing, too. Barbara starred alongside some pretty big names in a Japanese TV series. The show was taped live. One script called for her to utter words of distress about her lost key – kagi – in Japanese. Instead she cried out, kaji, kaji – the words for fire. A a bit of panic ensued on set until everyone realized it was a pronunciation problem. All was quickly forgiven and the show went on.
The Ninja Baker's Banana Nut Pocky Cupcake
Carole Water's Great Cakes Banana Nut Cake is the star of today's Cake Slice Bakers post. Banana bread and banana cake are cousins in my book. The difference is how you dress them up. What do you think?
For the Cake Slice Bakers, I went to town accessorizing Carole Walter’s Banana Nut Cake recipe by swirling chocolate buttercream and strawberry Pocky biscuit crumbles on top. Also, I converted Ms. Walter’s sheet cake recipe into cupcakes. The result was a cake with a whimsical note of banana supported by a sturdy walnut crunch. My chocolate buttercream accented with rich cocoa, cream cheese and Greek yogurt mixed on top with Pocky crumble garnered rave reviews.
A banana split sundae in cake form:
Strawberry Pocky crumble, chocolate frosting atop banana nut cake.
Due to copyright issues, I respectfully refrain from publishing the recipe. But, I found a similar recipe here. Add a pinch of nutmeg and you've nearly got an identical recipe. (Good news: In October, the Cake Slice Bakers will have a new cookbook with more recipes available for reprint.) Also, I can offer you my Vegan Chunky Monkey Banana Bread recipe. If you are a Pocky fan, click here for my Pocky Cake Pops.
The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of bakers from around the world. Currently, the challenge is to bake one of four preselected Carole Walter's Great Cakes recipes.
Banana Nut Cake - with a Japanese Pocky twist - was this
Ninja Baker's winning choice.
The chocolate buttercream made with whipped cream cheese is the Ninja Baker's creation. Enjoy the delicious frosting atop banana nut cake or any other "great cake"!
P.s. For the Pocky crumble, place a package of Pocky into the food processor. Pulse until a fine dust appears. Sprinkle atop cupcakes, ice cream or enjoy on top of toast for a faux Pop Tart flavor. The Pocky crumble can be kept in the freezer for a month.
