Easy Banana Cream Refrigerator Cake

I was scavenging the kitchen for something sweet, and saw a box of graham crackers. Deciding they would have to do, I pull down the box, and notice a recipe on the back. It suggested making a chocolate banana pudding type cake that truly looked divine! But, alas, I lacked most of the ingredients it required :( Determined to make something of it though, I noticed the recipe they suggested very much resembled the classic "Refrigerator Cake" and it gave me an idea! Using the Honey graham crackers, I would smother them in banana flavored whipped cream and arrange them into a cake, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, and viola! Mike's Easy Banana Cream Refrigerator Cake was born! (I really need a wittier name for this!) This cake boasts big banana flavor, the satisfying sweetness of real whipped cream and no need to turn on the oven!

First off, and this is optional, but it will really help when making your whipped cream (and please, MAKE your whipped cream for this, real heavy whipped cream works far better than canned stuff or cool whip, and making it is not hard to do)

Take your beater bowl and beaters/whisk and place them in the refrigerator (or, if they're metal and you can fit them, put them in your freezer) for about 15 minutes before starting.

Once those are getting chilled, Peel and slice your banana, then place the slices in the microwave, for about 30 seconds, just until they start getting dark and mushy. Then, Mash them with a fork into mush, and let them cool off to room temperature. Complicated, right? :P

Whipped Cream is very versatile. You can make it as heavy or light as you like, sweet or mild, plain or bursting with flavor. We're doing a sweet banana cream here, so lets get started.

-Pour 1 cup of whipped cream into your bowl, add in your vanilla and sugar. You can add more or less of the vanilla or sugar, but i find this one has the right balance for this cake.

-Get mixing! Starting with the electric mixer in the heavy cream, set it to slow, and work your way up to the fastest speed you can handle without making a mess. You want to beat it until oft peaks are about to form, or just starting to form (it may take a minute or two)

-You can use a whisk and mix by hand, it will take significantly longer though.

-Once the cream is about to start forming peaks, you want to add in the banana. Then slowly continue to mix it, until it turns fully into cream.

**Try not to over mix it! we don't want butter!

Now that the whipped cream is ready, you want to smear a generous amount on either one large plate or two small ones (I did two small ones). This will serve as a sort of glue to hold the graham crackers in place while you build the cake.

Take each full cracker, and using the lines on them, divide each one into four small crackers (it works just fine if you only break them in half or even leave them full, I just prefer the cream/cracker ratio of the smaller crackers for this cake) Smear a spoonful of cream onto the cracker, then continue with a couple more crackers, keeping them in your hand for the first 3 or 4.

Once you have a few in your hand, place them down. It is easier to stack the first 3-4 in your hand so that they have more surface to stand and balance on when you put them on the plate. Once on the plate, continue layering cracker and whipped cream. It doesn't need to be perfect, the crackers will swell up and fill any gaps in the cake.

Once layered on the plate (or plates), cover it with a thick layer of whipped cream on all sides. Now, its time to garnish! you know, if you want to... you don't have to.... but if you're serving this to family or friends, a few simple bits of garnish make what looks like a plain cake really look amazing, and can add flavors to make each cake unique.

For the two cakes I made, I did one with a zig zag drizzle of honey, crosshatched with lines of wheat germ and walnuts, and the other with a chocolate drizzle, crosshatched with wheat germ, walnuts, and chocolate chips! both of these combinations add wonderful flavors to this cake, and both were quite delicious!

Once its covered in Whipped cream and garnished to your hearts content, place the cake(s) in the fridge for at least 4 hours. The crackers absorb the moisture of the cream, making them very soft and cake like. You can make this cake the Night before it is to be served, but i personally like it best between the 4 and 6 hour mark, when the crackers have the slightest crunch left in them. :)

Have you got an idea for a Recipe that you'd like published? Or you aren't sure of the best way to modify or substitute ingredients in the above recipe, or any of my previous ones? Leave a comment! I would be happy to receive ideas for new recipes to try or share knowledge in how to change my existing recipes! And If I think a recipe came out particularly well, I might post a full recipe Hub for it! So be Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Drop a note a below! And Thank you for taking the time to Read/rate/review and maybe even try my recipes!