Banana Split Cakes!

Good morning!  Happy Friday!  I know that I had posted pictures of Paisley’s birthday party a couple of weeks ago….but yesterday was her real birthday.  We had her party a couple of weeks early so we could fit it in with the Olympics.  Yesterday, she turned five.  I can’t believe my baby is five…..mostly because I still haven’t lost all of my “baby” weight, and I am slowly realizing that I can’t call it baby weight when my baby is five.

I, of course, wanted to make Paisley’s birthday cake, and Paisley, of course, wanted me to buy one.  Not because she doesn’t like my food, but she loves store bought ice cream cakes.  Who doesn’t?  But I won this battle.  She loves banana splits, so I talked her into banana split cakes.  Today I am going to show you how I made her super cute individual banana split cakes.  She loved it, and I am pretty sure you will too.

Here is a sneak peak:

 

Who doesn’t love food in jars??

A banana split is essentially, chocolate ice cream, strawberry ice cream and vanilla ice cream sitting atop sliced bananas.  The ice cream is topped with strawberry sauce, pineapple sauce and hot fudge.  Then, the whole thing gets topped with whipped cream and a cherry.  Whew.  That’s a lot.

I tried to stuff every component (without using ice cream) into a tiny jar.  I think I succeeded.  Let me show you.

 

I used bananas, pound cake, strawberry sauce, hot fudge, whipped cream and maraschino cherries.  Yes, that is all store bought.  This cake is more about assembling then cooking….with the exception of my pineapple sauce….I did make that.

For the pineapple sauce, I used brown sugar, butter and crushed pineapple.

You can feel free to make any part of this cake yourself (homemade).  You can even make all of it from scratch, if you have that kind of time.  I was making this for a 5 year old…..she doesn’t care if it is from scratch or not.  Remember, she wanted a SpongeBob ice cream cake from Wal-Mart.

 

To make the pineapple sauce, I started by melting butter in a skillet.

 

Then, I whisked in brown sugar.  This will make a yummy caramel.

I let this cook for a couple of minutes to get all thick and caramely.

 

Finally, I stirred in my pineapple.  I let this boil away for five minutes until it was super thick.

Once this was done, I popped it in the fridge to cool off.  I don’t want to add hot pineapple sauce to my cake….

As for the cake….

 

I sliced my pound cake, lengthwise, into 3 pieces.  This will help me cut out as many circles as possible.  I am maximizing my pound cake.

It is fine if your cake is still frozen.  As long as you can cut it, it is fine.  These cakes go into the fridge anyway, so cold if good.

 

I used a cookie cutter that is just slightly smaller than the diameter of the jars I am using.  BTW-I am using half pint canning jars.  These are easily found at Wal-Mart or a hardware store.

You can also just trace around your jar bottoms.

 

The first layer of the cake is banana.  I sliced my banana and sprinkled it with lemon juice to keep it from browning.

What you see here is banana, a slice of pound cake, strawberry sauce, and another slice of pound cake.

 

Then, the chilled pineapple sauce.

 

And another slice of cake.  I used a slice from the top layer of the cake to make it look more finished.

 

Before I screwed the lids on and popped these bad boys in the fridge, I dolloped on some fudge.

I let these chill in the fridge for about 2 hours.  This will help everything “set”.  It also lets the sauces soak into the pound cake and make them extra yummy.

 

When I was ready to serve, I topped the whole thing with whipped cream and a cherry.  These are the cutest things ever!

How much do you want one right now?

Because they are already individual servings, they are perfect for a birthday or any other kind of party!  Everyone gets their own jar!

 

Peepers loved it!

 

She forgot all about a store bought cake!

If you love all the flavors of a banana split, like Paisley does, this cake is a must make.  You can suit it to your tastes too…..mix it up! 

Here is the recipe for the pineapple sauce…..

Pineapple Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar

8 ounces crushed pineapple

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Whisk in brown sugar and continue cooking over medium heat until this thickens, about 3 minutes.

Whisk in pineapple and let mixture boil over medium heat until mixture is thick, about 5 minutes.

Chill pineapple sauce in refrigerator.

Makes enough for 6 banana split cakes.