Our Fabled Nest

Elvis Inspired Cake

Forrest is our goober. Our class clown. Our daily dose of laughter from the looks he gives to his antics; he truly is one of a kind! When thinking of his birthday cake, I knew it needed to be unique and special just like his sweet self. He then gave me a look- a sarcastic snaggle tooth head tilted huh…. Elvis it is! Funny how inspiration find us. He is also the resident banana lover. I know for a fact he would mow down a small child for a banana. Facts.

I found inspiration over at Buttermilk By Sam for our cake concept. I love giving shout outs when they’re due! Beautiful blog and lots of delicious recipes! Theirs was a chocolate peanut butter banana cake. I knew we could work with our ingredients, make it 100% pupper friendly, gluten free and peanut free! I did follow their frosting recipe to a t, just doubled it; so, we could frost the entire cake instead of just between the layers. A few subs and changes later- I am impressed with this cake! It’s light and fluffy but rich. The carob flavor isn’t overpowering – it melds nicely with the sun butter and bananas. From the original recipe, we cut the sugar a good deal and I think that makes the cake even better since the icing is quite decadent. Overall, this is a new favorite for all of us! We love simple recipes that pack a punch!

Cake Ingredients:

4 Medium bananas, peeled and chopped
1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (our go to is King Arthur GF AP)
1/2 cup carob powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup extra light olive oil (or neutral oil of choice)
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup sun butter – no sugar added

Frosting Ingredients:

2 blocks cream cheese (8oz each)
2 sticks butter (no salt added) (cut up in smaller pieces)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup sun butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt

Cake Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Butter or line 2 8×8 cake pans. Set aside.
In a food processor, combine bananas, and eggs. Puree until smooth. Add applesauce, oil and sun butter. Puree again, until all is combined and smooth.
In a dry bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Stir together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated. We don’t want to over mix!
Divide the mixture between the two cake pans.
Bake for 50 minutes to an hour.
Let cool completely before frosting.
Note* Our RV is different from a typical residential oven. Keep that in mind!

Frosting Directions

In a clean food processor, combine butter and cream cheese. Puree until it starts combining. You may have to keep pushing it down and pulsing it to get the right consistency. Add the vanilla and salt. Then, a cup at a time, add the powdered sugar, puree and add another until all four cups are incorporated. I stirred in between with a rubber spatula and pushed down the ingredients, so everything was mixed nicely.