Bake something fun, share it with the world, and you could win a le creuset 5-piece utensil set
Thank you to all of you who sent in photos of your Cherry Shortbread Crumble Bars! Many of you took the original recipe and modified it to suit your personal tastes and to accomodate the ingredients you had on hand. It's always so fun to see how all of you take a recipe and adapt it to what you like and/or what you have. 😊
The March Bake Club winner is Cindy from Arvada, Colorado. She has been notified and her prize is on the way.
Also... April marks the 2 year anniversary of the Of Batter and Dough Bake Club! Seeing all of your bakes is one of my favorite things every month. THANK YOU for sharing your Bake Club Challenge creations with me.
The April, 2021 Bake Club Challenge Recipe is...
Cream Cakes!
Every now and then I like to offer an option, and this month is one of those times. This month you have the choice to bake either Banana Cream Cake or Coconut Cream Cake.
Can't decide? Bake them both! If you do, your name will be entered twice for this month's prize.
Both of these cakes include a generous amount of one of my favorite things - pastry cream. Because really, how could a cake stuffed with pastry cream not be delicious???
The Coconut Cream Cake is baked as a layer cake with a thick layer of coconut flavored pastry cream in between the layers. The Banana Cream Cake is baked as a Bundt Cake and then stuffed with banana pastry cream, Twinkie-style.
When I was working on the recipe for Banana Cream Cake, my original intention was to bake it as a layer cake with banana pastry cream just like the Coconut Cream Cake. In Coconut Cream Cake the pastry cream is prepared as usual, but without the final step of adding in some whipped cream. The result is a gorgeous, thick, creamy filling that you can easily layer and stack.
But, with the banana cream cake, I really liked the lighter, fluffier texture of adding whipped cream into the pastry cream along with a mashed banana. The problem with that was that the pastry cream wasn't thick enough to hold its own under a layer of cake and the top layer just slipped right off the cake. 🤦🏻♀️ The solution was to bake the banana cake in a bundt pan and then squirt the pastry cream filling into the cake like a Twinkie.
Whichever cake you choose, my preference is to frost them with Cream Cheese Buttercream. But, feel free to change it up as you like and frost your cake with American Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream.
The April Bake Club Prize:
Le Creuset Silicone Craft Series Utensil Set with Stoneware Crock
This month's prize is a repeat. I gave it away last year and am bringing it back because these silicone spatulas are one of the hardest working tools in my kitchen. I use them all the time, for everything. They are heat resistant up to 500 degrees and come in several different colors. If you're this month's winner, choose whatever color you like.
You’ll receive an email each month when a new recipe challenge and prize is announced. This is also how I’ll know how to contact you if you win. When you sign up for the Bake Club, you’ll be required to put in your name and email address. If you’re selected as the winner, I’ll send you an email and ask you where to send your prize. (If you’ve signed up in the past, you’re golden. It's not necissary to sign up every month.) Snap a picture of your Cherry Shortbread Crumble Bars and post it to Instagram, tagging it with #OfBatterAndDoughBakeClub. - OR, upload your photo to the Of Batter and Dough Facebook Page. - OR, send your photo to me in an email: rebecca@ofbatteranddough.com. By sharing your photo you’ll be automatically entered to win this month’s prize. Bake the challenge recipe and submit your photo before May 1st. Leave a comment and a rating for whichever cake you choose to bake - Coconut Cream or Banana Cream - and you’ll receive a bonus entry!how to participate in the bake club
Sign Up to Join The Bake Club
Bake This Month's Challenge and Show It Off!
Want a bonus entry???
Renee Meaux says
Question - I want to make the coconut cream cake, but in bundt cake form... I was thinking of doing it like the banana cream cake, but obviously with the coconut cake recipe instead. For the pastry cream in this case - would you add the whipped cream or no?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Renee! I think making this as a Bundt Cake, just like the banana cream cake, will work out great. Since you'll be piping the filling into the cake instead of spreading it in-between two layers, I'd go ahead and add the whipped cream. The whipped cream creates a lighter, softer pastry cream that's easier to pipe into cake. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Lucretia Maloney says
Love, loved this!! My son loves banana bread. What better to make then a banana cream bundt cake for Easter!! It was so moist and delicious. I did not make the pastry cream, rather took some of the icing and added some of the mixed bananas to it and piped that in the middle 😋😘PERFECT!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Lucretia! I am so happy to hear that you and your son liked this recipe! And, I love the idea of just mixing some bananas into the icing and using that to fill the cake! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. And thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo