Oh Yes I Did...

   It started with a comment, continued with a strange notion, and became a full blown challenge when I saw it on Pinterest. Who in their right mind attempts to combine the rich glory of creamy banana pudding with moist, tender cake? At least two crazy people in this world have attempted it and let me say, the results are shameful... deliciously shameful.

   

    In my quest to conquer this challenge I traveled over the web to The Country Cook for an answer. I found one..but something was missing. Mulling over the recipe for days it finally hit me. The vital, key components of amazing banana pudding were missing- bananas and nilla cookies. They weren't there. No offence to the country cook, but thoughts of instant pudding and a faint dust of cookies deflated my hopes of presenting this to the spoiled rotten men in my family. 

     Not one to be defeated I posed the dilemma to my hungry fellows. They graciously and wisely posed a notion back to me. Why not simply use the 'tried and true' family banana pudding recipe with a simply vanilla cake..put the cookies and bananas in between. They are geniuses- each one of them. 

     Simply Scaife's Not So Simple Banana Pudding Cake

The cake:

• 
  
• 2 cups sugar,
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, soft
• 1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking dish. Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and blend with a hand mixer until 'sandy'. Add the vanilla to the milk and blend into the sandy mixture, blending for 30 seconds until well incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and blend 30 more seconds. Add one egg at a time, blending 30 seconds after each one. Pour into the baking dish, baking 40 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool while preparing the pudding. 

The Pudding:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs (three if they are small)

1/2 cup flour 

1 large can evaporated milk

1 small can evaporated milk

(or skip the evaporated milk and use 3 cups full fat fresh milk)
1/3 cup butter (yes real butter), soft

1 tsp vanilla

In a heavy bottom saucepan, mix eggs and sugar, then flour. Pour in milk and stir gently (if using evaporated, measure in cup and add enough water to make 3 cups). Drop in the butter and set this over medium flame. Gently stir and cook until it begins to thicken and will coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat, cover to prevent a "skin" forming on top, and cool to room temp.

Assemble it with:

3 bananas
1 box vanilla wafers
whipped cream

Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes at random in the cake. Pour half of the lightly cooled pudding over the cake. Let the cake drink it up before layering with a hearty scattering of the wafers. Slice the bananas and scatter them over the wafers before drizzling the rest of the pudding all over the whole thing. Spread with cool whip and chill thoroughly. 

     So it was born- the Scaife Family Farm version of Banana Pudding cake. Rich, moist, dreamily delicious and so full of calories you will need to fast for a week. This recipe is so dangerous it has to be set aside with great reserve and saved for only the most special of occasions. We share it with you to use at your own risk..we are not responsible for the sugar laden euphoria that will result from consuming unrestrained portions of this amazing delight. Bonn appetite!