Banana Pudding Cake

I meet every Tuesday with a great group of folks who are also dealing with the death of a loved one.  As baking and desserts are kind of my thing, I've wanted to bring something for a while.  However, as so many of them are Catholic, and I know a lot of people give up sweets for Lent, I didn't want to be a bad influence.  Yesterday I baked what I'm calling "Banana Pudding Cake" and brought it.  Everyone really liked it, and most took a piece home.  Try it out and tell me what you think!

Ingredients:

Cake 

• Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 1/3 cups of water
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 medium bananas mashed (about a cup's worth)

The prettiest cakes I've ever made.  I finally tried the trick of lining the bottom of the pans with wax paper.  It worked like a charm.  No sticking or anything!

Filling

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
•  3 tbsp flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten (do this first)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp butter

Icing

• 8oz package of Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese if you prefer) 
• 1 package sugar free banana cream pudding mix
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• Milk to thin frosting (sorry didn't measure)
• Vanilla Wafers to garnish

The cake during the icing stages. I always have the hubby ice my cakes. He has a much steadier hand than I do.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut wax paper to fit the bottoms of your pans and grease the sides. Mash the bananas.  I chopped mine coarsely first.  You can leave small chunks. 
2. Combine came mix, water, eggs, and oil.  Beat until moistened then beat for two minutes.  Add bananas.
3. Pour into pans and back for 30-35 minutes.  Cool pans for 15 minutes, remove cakes, let them completely cool before frosting and filling.
4. While cakes are cooking prepare your filling.  Separate your eggs and beat slightly in a small bowl. Heat your cup of milk to almost boiling (it can boil, just keep an eye on it, because it can scorch.)
5. Mix sugar, flour and salt, blending well.  Gradually add the hot milk to the bowl of dry ingredients.  Make sure you stir!
6. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, turn to low heat.  Cook this for about five minutes.  Stir constantly!
7. Temper your eggs with some of the hot mixture.  Then pour into the saucepan, cook for about two more minutes.
8. Take your pan off the heat, add the butter and vanilla, stir until melted.  Pour your mixture into a bowl and press plastic wrap onto the surface (keeps a weird film from forming).  Cool in the refrigerator until ready to fill cake.
9. Make your icing: place cheese, butter, and vanilla into a bowl.  Beat until smooth.
10. Add pudding mix.  You will now basically have a dough like substance. 
11. Gradually add powdered sugar, adding milk to thin when necessary.  You want a thick bodied frosting for this.
12. Put cake together, garnish with vanilla wafers.  And enjoy!

Next time I plan on putting crushed wafers on the top. Having the whole ones made it difficult to cut.

I am a notoriously messy baker. This is why the husband's happy I don't bake all that often!

I hope you enjoyed the recipe!  I cobbled it together from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book and Incredibly Easy Cake Mix.

Anything you would try differently?  I'm always up for improvements!

PS--Other cooking bloggers out there, how do you make your food so pretty?