Triple Layer Bourbon Banana Cake With Fried Bananas, Peanut Butter Buttercream, Candied Bacon And Peanut Sprinkles

Does the title of this recipe make you laugh?

Insane right?

This bird is insane, too. I laugh along with the feather brain every time.

Back to this crazy cake.

The gal who created the cake did so in honor of Elvis Presley, who famously was fond of grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches with or without bacon.

My favorite part of the cake is the candied bacon sprinkles. The Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing is really terrific, too.

If you love banana cake, bananas foster, bacon and peanut butter you really cannot go wrong whipping up this recipe. Wear a white jumpsuit. That’ll really get Polo laughing.

Triple Layer Bourbon Banana Cake With Fried Bananas, Peanut Butter Buttercream, Candied Bacon And Peanut Sprinkles

Bourbon Banana Cake

Ingredients for bourbon banana cake:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup light brown sugar
⅜ (6 Tbs) cup white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 ¼ cup mashed bananas (about 6 very ripe bananas)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup bourbon

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl mix melted butter, mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla and bourbon.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk flour with the sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Fold wet banana mixture into the flour mixture until all ingredients are moistened. Be careful not to over mix.

4. Divide and pour cake batter into greased and floured cake pans. Bake cakes 20 to 25 minutes in the center of the oven or until a tester inserted into middle of the cakes comes out clean.

5. Cool cakes in the pan for 5 minutes then invert and remove from pan to cool completely on wire racks.

Candied Bacon Sprinkles

Ingredients for bacon sprinkles and peanut garnish:

8 strips of thick cut bacon, cut in half
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
Additional honey for drizzle garnish (to taste)

Directions:

1. Set aside chopped peanuts and additional honey for use during cake assembly.

2. Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on the bottom of a large cast iron skillet. Cooking in batches over medium heat, fry bacon until it’s just done making sure that bacon is not too crisp.

3. Use tongs to remove bacon from pan and place on a paper towel covered plate. Blot bacon with paper towel to remove excess grease. Drain all but two tablespoons excess grease from frying pan and add brown sugar and bourbon.

4. Return pan to medium-low heat. When mixture begins to bubble slightly toss in bacon and coat with sugar mixture. Drizzle coated bacon with honey and cook until bacon achieves a candy sheen. Remove bacon from pan with tongs and place bacon pieces on a cutting board to cool.

5. Reserve liquid in pan. Once bacon has completely cooled, chop into “bacon bits” and set aside.

Fried Bananas

Ingredients for fried bananas:

4 semi-ripe, but firm bananas
Reserved bacon grease/sugar/honey/bourbon mix from the bacon sprinkles (recipe above)
1 tablespoon bourbon whiskey

Directions:

1. Slice bananas crosswise into medallions of approximately the same size.

2. In a large cast iron skillet, heat reserved bacon grease mixture over medium low heat with bourbon. When mixture begins to bubble slightly use tongs to add bananas in a single layer to the pan. Cook bananas for several minutes on each side until bananas are completely coated and slightly softened.

3. Use tongs to carefully remove bananas from the pan and cool completely on a large plate.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing

Ingredients for peanut butter buttercream icing:

1 ½ cups granulated sugar
8 tablespoons pasteurized egg whites (1 large egg white equals 2 Tbs, so you need 4 eggs)
1 lb unsalted butter, softened
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:

1. Whisk sugar and egg whites together in a large heatproof bowl or the bowl of a double boiler. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, the bowl should be a snug fit with the pan. Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch, approximately 3 minutes.

2. Using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, beat the egg white and sugar mixture at medium speed until it is cool and milky white in color, approximately 5 minutes.

3. Switch to the paddle attachment and add butter to egg white mixture one tablespoon at a time. Beat until smooth between each addition. Once all of the butter is added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and smooth, 6-10 minutes. Add vanilla extract then add the peanut butter ¼ cup at a time.

Cake Assembly

Directions to assemble cake:

1. Place first cake layer on serving plate or platter. Spread cake generously with buttercream and layer with half of the cooled fried bananas.

2. Add the second cake layer on top of the first and spread generously with buttercream and layer with the remaining fried bananas.

3. Add the final cake layer and spread generously with buttercream. Use remaining buttercream to completely frost the sides. Top cake with bacon sprinkles, chopped peanuts and drizzle with honey.

Recipe from ILovePeanutButter.com