As the 2021 cake challenge continued on, a friendly rhino by the name of happened into the dining room and gave a wonderful suggestion. How about a banana cake? Well these high-potassium fruits make excellent desserts... but how to take this flavor and take it beyond its boundaries? The kitchen debated... some said "It must have peanut butter!" While others shouted, "No, it must have chocolate ganache!" And finally they stopped and realized... ¿por qué no los dos? And as such the kitchen set about making a dessert that would go well beyond banana cake, taking this classic treat into new heights of decadence. And what's more? It meets the "three very rule": (1) it's very easy to make, (2) it's very inexpensive and finally (3) it's very delicious.

Here's what you'll need:

- 3 large, ripe bananas (I bought some two days before I baked and kept them in a paper bag on my kitchen counter to help them ripen)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 3 eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 1/2 sticks of butter (at room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla

To begin, preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set the bowl aside and turn your attention to your wet ingredients. In another bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), cream together the butter and both the granulated and brown sugars. Add one egg at a time, mixing until combined before adding the next, then add in the vanilla. Finally, add your ripened bananas and mix. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.

Next, we're going to add the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the wet ingredients. With your mixer on its lowest speed, add 1/3 of your dry ingredients, mixing until just combined (be careful not to overmix), and then add 1/2 of your buttermilk. Repeat this process until you have added all of your dry ingredients as well as your buttermilk (it should go dry, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry). Once again, only mix until the ingredients are just combined (finish with a spatula, making sure to scrape down the bowl of the mixer).

Spray and place parchment paper into two 9" cake pans and evenly distribute the batter. As a note, this batter will be a bit thick and it will have lumps. That is fine and expected! Now bake the cakes for approximately 40 minutes. Since every oven is different, I would recommend checking your cakes to see if they are done at the 35 minute mark. If a toothpick still comes out wet, give it until 40 minutes. If toothpicks continue to come out wet when you test your cakes, give them another 3 minutes and then check again. Repeat until toothpicks come out clean. Place both cakes on racks to cool... and let's turn to the frosting.

Peanut butter goes so well with bananas, as Elvis well knew. So a peanut butter frosting will compliment the banana flavor of your cake, making it even more delicious.

Here's what you'll need:

- 1 stick of butter (at room temp)
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- A pinch of salt

In a large mixing bowl/bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and peanut butter for about one minute to combine. Then, with your mixer on the lowest speed, add the powdered sugar and then the cream and vanilla. Mix on a low speed for about 30 seconds, then on high for 2 minutes. If the frosting seems too thick, add in an additional tablespoon of heavy cream. You'll want the frosting able to spread, this may need several additional tablespoons of cream depending on your peanut butter's consistency.

Use an offset spatula to add a layer of peanut butter frosting to the top of one layer of cake, then invert the other layer on top to give a flatter surface on top. Carefully frost your cake with the peanut butter, trying to keep it even. Once frosted, park the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes to let the frosting firm up.

Now, we could stop here... but why not go beyond? And what better way to finish a cake then with a delicious chocolate ganache? And the best part? It's super easy and delicious to make!

Here's what you'll need:

- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)

Pour the chocolate chips (or you could use 8 ounces of Baker's chocolate, finely chopped) in a metal bowl. The bowl should not be plastic as it may impact the texture of the ganache. Pour the cream into a sauce pan and heat over medium until you see bubbles forming around the edge. Do not let the cream come to a full boil, that is not what we need! Once you see the bubbles, turn off the stove and carefully pour the heated cream over the chocolate chips and let it stand for 2-to-3-minutes. Do not touch it!

After several minutes, take a spoon and begin to gently stir. Now, things will not look good. In fact, it will look like things have gone wrong and you messed up. But fear not! You have done everything correctly! Just keep stirring and after a minute you'll see the ganache come together. And the more you stir, the shinier the chocolate ganache will become! Let the ganache cool for a few minutes and it will thicken slightly. From here you could gently pipe the ganache onto the cake, drizzle with a fork... or just pour it over the cake to let it cascade down the sides with glorious chocolate!

I think you know which choice our kitchen made.

Banana is such a wonderful fruit to work with. It makes excellent desserts... especially when you add complimenting flavors like peanut butter and chocolate. And with an easy chocolate ganache recipe, you can have plenty left over to make chocolate dipped strawberries or even frost cupcakes... or to just go at it with a spoon. So, a big thank you to our rhino friend for his suggestion. To make sure there's more than enough of this decadent treat to go around the kitchen will be staying open late. Care to place an order?

Want to know what the 2021 Cake Challenge is all about? Check out my journal on the subject and maybe submit a suggestion for a future recipe the Cake Challenge is on!