monkey cake
I’m pretty serious about birthday cakes. When I think of someone being presented with some shortening spackled quarter sheet cake from a discount grocery chain on their birthday — a day they only get to celebrate a year! Which is like if you’re a kid or perhaps the sort of grownup who didn’t get the memo that at the age of 34, birthdays are really not supposed to be a big deal anymore — it makes me sad. Not judgmental-sad, because lord knows I could barely eke out this cake on Saturday, and it’s supposed to be, like, , but empathetic-sad because I totally blame lousy, intimidating recipes for making the two-layer + frosting task seem not worth it to go it at home. I hope to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get the fluffy, towering, butter-laden imperfectly frosted, slightly crooked homemade cake they deserve for making it through another year. Or, perhaps, one’s entire life to date, for the first birthday set.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
What these numbers assume — 11 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Banana | 1 medium (118g) | 105 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Yogurt | 170g plain Greek | 100 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 5 1/4 cups (21 1/2 ounces or 609 grams) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce or 15 grams) baking powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (13 grams) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) salt
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces or 341 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces or 300 grams) sugar [weights corrected 6/23/11]
- 1 1/2 cups (11 1/2 ounces or 327 grams) packed golden brown sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups mashed or pureed very ripe bananas (about 8 large)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 7/8 ounces or 136 grams) sour cream or (weight will vary) plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups (14 3/8 ounces or 406 grams) cake flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
- 3/4 teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) sugar
- 1 cup (7 5/8 ounces or 218 grams) packed golden brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups mashed or pureed very ripe bananas (5 to 6 large)
- 6 tablespoons (3 1/4 ounces or 91 grams) sour cream or (weight will vary) plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 6 3/4 cups (28 1/2 ounces or 810 grams) confectioners’ sugar (no need to sift)
- 4 1/2 sticks (18 ounces or 510 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 9 tablespoons (135 ml) half-and-half or whole milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (23 ml) vanilla extract
- 8 ounces (226 grams) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
- 4 1/2 cups (19 ounces or 540 grams) confectioners’ sugar (no need to sift)
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces or 341 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (90 ml) half-and-half or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 5 ounces (142 grams) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled