Best Ever Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

George Oman asked for banana cake for his birthday and he loved this recipe. He is somewhat of a banana cake aficionado.

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 1⁄2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
3⁄4 cup butter, softened
2 1⁄8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1⁄2 cups buttermilk

Frosting:
1⁄2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1⁄2 cups icing sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275°. (Yes, that is correct)

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.

In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour (mine took 1 1/2 hours) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.

Spread on cooled cake.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of the frosting, if desired.

Chocolate Candy Bar Cake

1 Swiss Chocolate Cake Mix (or German Chocolate)*
1 8 oz Package Cream Cheese (softened)
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
10 Milk Chocolate Candy Bars with Almonds (I use Hershey Bars with Almonds, though you could really use any candy bar you want)
1 12 oz Container Cool Whip

1. Make cake according to directions in three 8" cake pans and bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let cakes cool completely on wire racks.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugars at medium speed until creamy

3. Chop 8 of the candy bars finely and fold into the cream cheese mixture then fold in the cool whip.

4. Frost cakes, then chop remaining 2 candy bars and sprinkle on top. (I say 'sprinkle' but they pretty much just cover the whole top of the cake. Or even the whole cake like the photo, if you like.)

5. Enjoy!

*I've made this cake with a darker chocolate cake mix before and it's just not as good. You'd think more chocolate would be better, but in this case I promise it's best with a lighter chocolate cake.

Mike's Lemon Cheesecake

This is a modified version of "Joanne's Almost Fat-free Lemon Cheesecake" as seen on Paula Deen.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• Cooking spray
• 1 3/4 c. Crushed Nilla Wafers
  
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted

Fillings:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 c. sour cream
• 2 c. sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly spray a springform pan with cooking spray. Mix crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden and crust is set. Cool on rack.

In large bowl beat cream cheese and sour cream for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until incorporated. Beat in zest and juice. I like to line the sides of the springform pan with strips of parchment paper. A little butter or crisco is good for getting it to stay in place while you pour in the filler. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until center is almost set, but still slightly jiggly. (Do not overbake, as it will firm as it cools). I don't use a waterbath for this recipe, but if you don't want the top to crack, I'd recommend one. Let cool completely.

Run a thin blade around the edge of the springform pan and remove sides. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cool cheesecake in refrigerator several hours or overnight before serving.