Banana Cheesecake Cake

CHEESECAKE:

• Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup granulated white sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs
• ⅓ cup sour cream
• ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

BANANA CAKE:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1½ cups mashed ripe bananas
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

• 2½ cups powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps
• Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

FOR SERVING:

• sliced banana
• caramel syrup

PREPARE THE CHEESECAKE LAYER:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place a large roasting pan on the lower third rack of the oven. Place a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Wrap a double layer of foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan (you want to seal it so the water from the water bath doesn't seep into the pan). In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese- blend until it is nice and smooth and creamy. Mix in sugar and salt and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Finally, mix in sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Set the pan into the roasting pan in the pre-heated oven. Carefully pour the hot water from your kettle into the roasting pan (it will fill the pan surrounding the cheesecake). Pour enough water so that there is about an inch of water coming up the foil along the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. It should be set to the touch and not jiggly. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. When it has cooled, place the pan into the freezer and let the cheesecake freeze completely. This can be done in several hours- or overnight.

PREPARE THE CAKE LAYERS:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray (the baking spray with flour is best). In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add eggs, oil and vanilla to the flour mixture. Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients for 1 minute, until well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then beat on high speed for 1 minute. Stir in the bananas and pecans. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Let the pans cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely.

PREPARE THE FROSTING:

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not over beat).

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:

• Place one cake layer into the center of a cake plate or platter. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, take off the sides of the pan, and slide a knife under the parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan. Peel off the parchment. Measure your cheesecake layer against the cake layers. If the cheesecake layer turns out to be a slightly larger round than your cake, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake to get it to the same size as your cake layers. Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer. Place the 2nd cake layer on top of the cheesecake.

FROST THE CAKE AND SERVE:

• Apply a crumb coat layer to the cake- use a long, thin spatula to cover the cake completely with a thin and even layer of frosting. Be sure to wipe off your spatula each time you are about to dip it back into the bowl to get more frosting (this way you won't be transferring any red crumbs into the bowl of frosting). Don't worry at this point about the crumbs being visible in the frosting on the cake. When your cake has a thin layer of frosting all over it, place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to "set" the frosting. Once the first layer of frosting is set, apply the 2nd layer. Start by adding a large scoop of frosting onto the top of the cake. Use a long, thin spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top and then spread it down the sides of the cake too. Because you applied a crumb-coat layer, you shouldn't have any crumbs floating around in the final frosting layer. Decorate, as desired. I recommend piping a little more frosting decoratively on top. Keep this cake refrigerated. Serve slices with sliced banana and a drizzle of caramel syrup.

• *If you are serving this cake at a party, it's perfectly okay to leave the cake at room temperature for an hour or so while serving. Otherwise, keep it in the refrigerator. It also freezes perfectly! I made my cake one day and then just placed it as-is in the freezer and pulled it out the next day. It thaws quickly.