A classic, light cake with a peanut butter twist.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | One 9-inch cake |
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260 grams) flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1/2 cup (125 milliliters) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (about 3)
- 1/2 cup (130 grams) canned, crushed pineapple
- 3/4 cup (90 grams) chopped pecans
- 8.8 ounces (250 grams) brick cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) smooth peanut butter
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups (260 to 325 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (170 grams) peanut butter chips
- 2 cups (52 grams) corn flakes
- Pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, grease two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of each with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs until well combined. Stir in the mashed banana and pineapple then add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Stir through the pecans and divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the icing: Using either a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Begin adding the confectioners’ sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing on low in between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and cinnamon and set aside.
- For the crunch: Melt the peanut butter chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Stir in the corn flakes to evenly coat, transfer to a piece of parchment paper and spread into an even layer. Scatter the top with the salt and set aside to cool and harden.
- When the cakes are cool, top one layer with an even coating of the frosting. Top with the remaining cake and spread the remaining frosting over the top of the cake. Scatter over the crunch.
Reviews
My family and I loved this cake! The icing was a wonderful compliment to the flavors in it and the crunch on top was addictive. Will definitely make again.
Followed cake recipe and made cupcakes. Substituted potato chips for the crunch. Added PB2 to store bought frosting. The cupcakes came out fantastic. The crunch topping was everyone’s favorite. Definitely a winner.
♥️♥️♥️ this cake. I dhange up the icing toppings every time I make it. Its a great way to use up small amounts of leftover toppings. Sometimes I make it with different toppings on the other half of the cake. Love the peanut butter on it.
This cake was amazing! I did not find it overly sweet. It had a great balance of all the flavors. I used potato chips for the topping as Mary suggested in one of her videos. Fantastic!
I used half as much sugar to cut back a little on that ingredient with my grandkids. The peanut butter topping was a little bit different, but definitely added that extra punch of peanut butter flavor. We all liked it. It is still a really sweet cake.