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urrent Recipes

Chunkey Monkey Cake

As seen on WFSB-TV 3 Better Connecticut Friday, July 18th.

A delicious, moist banana nut cake is filled with chocolate chunks and frosted with cream cheese frosting. Perfect for Dads or grads!

For Chunkey Monkey Cake you’ll need:

• Two 9-inch banana nut cake layers
• 2 cups chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate pieces
• One Recipe Cream Cheese Frosting
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Banana Nut cake

• ¼ pound unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 2 cups mashed bananas ( 2 to 3 bananas)
• 1 cup large walnut pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease and flour or line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until light. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one.
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a small bowl, combine bananas and sour cream.  Pour each of these mixtures alternately into the butter mixture. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Mix just until blended. Stir in walnuts.
5. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a fine crumb.
6. Remove pans from the oven and place on wire cooling racks. Cool cakes in pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully remove cakes from the pans and continue to cool on wire racks. Remove and discard parchment. Cool cakes completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ¼ pound unsalted butter, softened
• 6 cups confectioners sugar

1. In an electric mixer, cream butter and cream cheese on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until fluffy.
2. On low speed, gradually add confectioners sugar until blended and smooth. Beat on high speed 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Use immediately or store refrigerated in an airtight container. Let frosting come to room temperature and briefly re-whip before using.

Assembly:

1. Level off tops of cake layers. Place one layer, cut side up, on a cake plate or a doily covered cake circle. Spread a layer of frosting over the cake layer. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks.
2. Place other layer, cut side down, onto bottom layer.
3. Using a metal spatula, frost the outside of the cake with remaining frosting.
4. Adhere walnuts to the sides of the cake.
5. Garnish top of cake, as desired, with chocolate chunks.
6. Refrigerate to let cake set up, about ½ hour. Or store refrigerated overnight. Let cake come to room temperature before serving.

Makes one 9-inch layer cake, about 12 to 15 servings. 

Maria Bruscino Sanchez

Sweet Maria’s, Inc.

www.sweet-marias.com

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