Lunch Lady vs Green's Divine Banana Cake (Birthday Edition)

Lunch Lady vs Green’s Divine Banana Cake (Birthday Edition)
17 March 2015

It is my littlest person’s 6th birthday today. I LOVE that the girls take their birthday cake choice very seriously. Weeks out from their birthdays they are weighing up the pros and cons for each variety. Pretty much always ending with carrot cake. It is what I have made for the last 5 years.

This time, Pep didn’t tell me what cake she wanted, she just told me she wanted cream cheese icing. Who can blame the kid.

So to kill two birds with one stone I am stacking up Green’s Divine Banana Cake, against my all time favourite, Almost Rotten Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.

If you can make a banana cake from a box that tastes and smells just as good as a from scratch one, filled with black bananas, I will eat every single word ever posted on this blog.

Happy birthday Pepper Lou! You are a great, and crazy, little human.

Lunch Lady’s Almost Rotten Banana Cake vs Green’s Divine Banana Cake

What You Need

Almost Rotten Banana Cake

• 125g softened unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups mashed ripe banana
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 250g self raising flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup milk

Icing

• 225g cream cheese, softened
• 120g unsalted butter, softened and cubed
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Green’s Divine Banana Cake

• Sugar
• Wheat flour
• Vegetable fats and oils
  – Emulsifiers (471, 477)
  – Antioxidant (320)]
• Raising agents
  – 450
  – Sodium bicarbonate
• Tapioca starch
• Salt
• Natural flavour
• Emulsifier
  – 481
• Colours
  – Annatto
  – Caramel (150d)
  – Turmeric
• Eggs
• Milk
• Butter

What You Need to Do

From Scratch Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C.
2. Line your cake tin with baking paper (it’s so much easier and prettier that way).
3. Cream the butter and the sugar, until nice and fluffy (don’t eat too much of it).
4. Add the eggs, banana and vanilla and beat in.
5. Then pop in the flour, cinnamon and salt, mix to combine.
6. Finally pop in the milk and mix one last time until it looks like a super delicious cake batter.
7. Poor your batter in to your cake tin and pop in the over for about 50 – 60 mins. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cake at the home stretch.
8. Place your cake on a wire rack to cool and get cracking on the icing.
9. Cream the butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.
10. Add lemon zest and icing sugar and mix until combined.
11. Once your cake is cool place your icing on top of your delicious cake. I find that there is the perfect amount for your cake and to eat out of the bowl.
12. Kiss your kid happy birthday and take a photo of them blowing out the candles!

Green’s Divine Banana Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and flour cake pan or lightly grease and line with baking paper.
2. Place cake mix, eggs, milk and margarine or butter in to mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on low speed until all ingredients are combined. Mix on medium speed for two minutes. Pour batter in to prepared cake pan.
3. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. Cake is baked if it springs back when lightly touched in the centre. Allow to cool for 5 minutes prior to inverting on to cooling rack.
4. Empty icing mix into mixing bowl with margarine or butter and milk. Using an electric mixer, mix on low speed until ingredients are combined. Mix on medium speed for two minutes. Spread prepared icing over the top and sides of cooled cake.

This is one of those packet mix cakes that confuses me. You have to add so many of the basics of the ‘from scratch cake’ in to the pre mix, that you may as well enjoy a real banana cake. If you can make this packet mix, you CAN make a cake from scratch. Don’t be scared. Don’t think you can’t bake. You can do it!

When I was mixing the Green’s Divine Banana Cake, the smell reminded me of those banana lollies I used to give my brother in return for his pineapples and milk bottles. So when I mentioned I would eat every word on this blog if I could replicate a real banana cake from a box. Well my words are safe… for now.