FINALLY! **fist pumping up to the heavens!**

That is what I shouted as I took a bite of this cake on Sunday morning, right after I finished frosty it with the mac-dreamy creamy white chocolate frosting. (And for the record, the code word here is DREAMY).

Because, man for the past two weeks, my baking mode has been dampen by the last two cakes in the list. I was sooo ready to like something, anything... and if this cake should have failed me, I was going to sit in a corner and rock back and forth until my baking charm came back.

However, it was meant to be. This week cake was the very reason why I love Rose’s book in the first place. It was simple, great ingredient combination and if followed to the T, you are going to be rewarded with a fabulous cake, which you will bake again, and again, and pass on to your children.

Of course the main ingredient here is Bananas.

Having lived in a tropical country like Venezuela, there was no way you could not be expose to tropical fruits. Our back yard had all types of fruit trees, Mango, Passion Fruit, Mamoncillo (which I have never seen here, but ohhhh, so delish), Guayaba (Guava) and of course a banana tree.

And bananas, well, I have to come clean - I LOVE them. I loved them plain, loved them in shakes, loved them cooked, loved them cut up on top of cereal, or drizzle with sweetened condense milk, on top of ice cream and I specially loved them in banana bread, which I make like clock-work at least once a month.

A bit of trivia for you guys. Did you know that there are over 1000 types of bananas in the world?

Yep, many of them, differing slightly in appearance, size, taste and use. The type we had in our backyard was called Manzano, and let me tell you this is a primadona of a banana. You have to wait to eat it until the thin skin is black (not just a little black: BLACK) otherwise it is just “blah” with a tannic aftertaste. But, if you wait (and I mean WAIT – like weeks well past what you think is a reasonable wait for a banana) then you will be rewarded with a tropical nightclub in your mouth — smooth, creamy, pineapply, strawberry, banana love. Oh and then the taste will linger and linger until eventually you think, “What is that weird flavor in my mouth? Oh – Is it STILL that banana? Good lord!”

So of course I was going to use these for this cake. I was lucky to find them in the Asian market and took 2 bunches home with me. Tom and I have been eating bananas for over a week now.

The composing of the cake is very simple. Using a food processor you whip up the bananas, crème fraiche, vanilla extract, the eggs and the lemon zest, - I, of course did a lemon/lime combination on the zest, I wanted a zing-gier cake.

All that resulted into some major goodness, which, you dump in the KA mixing bowl and get to whipping it up with the turbinado sugar, then gradually add the oil and the dry ingredients. Another bit of mixing up and into the oven it went.

And be prepare for your house to smell so delicious you start taking big gulps of air just to keep that high.

My cake came out perfect, and just like the book said it would, with a domed middle. I waited the necessary 10 minute mark, took out of the cake pan and left it to cool at room temperature and then, into the refrigerator, to get all nice and cold and prep-up for its love affair with the MacDreamy of frostings.

The frosting took me 10 minutes to do. Again, I used my food processor to mix the cream cheese, sour cream (I had run out of Crème Fraiche), almond extract, white chocolate (previously melted in the microwave) and because I still wanted that zing, I added some more lemon/lime zest in the mix.

Then I did what I do best – fast, furious decorating - Dumped the whole thing on top of the cake and played with my frosting until I got it they way I like it. Sprinkled some more zest on top and waited about 2 seconds to cut into it and have it for breakfast.

Then I died a little and went to heaven.

When I came back to earth, I decided that this cake was NOT going to leave my sight – NO SHARING!

Verdit:

Tom: “Babe, this is what I want as my birthday cake – end of story.”

Me: I love it. By the time I finish this post, I had eaten 3 pieces and told Tom to put it away, less I turn into “Gollum” and start chanting “We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious…So bright... so beautiful... ah, Precious”

He made sure the cake was protected inside the refrigerator.