Ultimate indulgence - banana caramel cream cheese cake

I like banana cake. A lot.

I baked banana cake so much last year that my piggies actually had to tell me to stop. (^^||) But recently, I found a banana cake recipe on piggy's cooking journal (head on over to see her pretty cake and blog) that I really wanted to try out. It's different and really interesting because one, you don't need to mush up the bananas.. two, uses *gasp* cream cheese + butter.. and three, there's caramel in it! Can you see my name on it?!!! And do you now see why I call this the ultimate-indulgent banana caramel cream cheese cake?! (^^) 

Banana caramel cream cheese cake (adapted from piggy's cooking journal)

Caramel

60g caster sugar

1 tbsp water

1tbsp hot water

2 tbsp fresh cream (I didn't want to open up a pack of cream, so I used leftover evaporated milk)

Cake

115g unsalted butter (I used only 100g, no problem)

90g cream cheese

75g caster sugar (consider using 40-50g, if bananas are sweet)

3 egg yolks

180g self-raising flour, sifted

1/2 tsp baking powder (I omitted this)

3 egg whites

40g caster sugar (consider using 25g, if bananas are sweet)

1 1/2 bananas, cut into thickness of 0.5cm (I used 4 medium bananas, but next time I'll use more)

30g cream cheese, cut into small cubes (I used more, 50g)

1. Prepare caramel. Cook sugar and water in a saucepan. When syrup turns into amber color (I'm not sure why mine didn't turn amber, but cloudy and murky?), remove from heat. Stir in hot water, and cream. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 180C and prepare (line/grease) tin/s.

3. Beat butter, cream cheese and 75g sugar till light and fluffy. Add egg yolks slowly, one at a time till well combined. 

4. Whisk egg whites till foamy and add 40g sugar bit by bit. Whip till stiff peak forms.

5. Add 1/3 egg whites into cream cheese mixture. Then mix in flour till combined. (I added caramel here instead of as per recipe, no problem ^^)

6. Fold remaining egg whites into cake mixture gently.

7. Add bananas and stir in caramel. Pour cake mixture into tin/s. Top with cream cheese cubes.

8. Bake for 40 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.

From the ingredients, you know this cake is not for the faint-hearted! But if you know how to pace yourself, or like me, bake it in 3 small loaf tins.. divide and share the "fat".. you can have your cake and eat it too! (^^) 

But sometimes, despite our best effort not to over-eat.. it can get quite quite difficult ^^||.. especially when the cake is exceptionally good, like this one! This is simply one of the best cakes I've ever made!  Big and baby pig absolutely LOVES this! Big says he likes this better than the usual "brown mushed-up" banana cake. Between them, half a loaf was gone in a flash! And they are staking a claim on the third loaf!  

Anyways, I initially thought the cake texture looked kind of dense. Well, it is anything but dense! The texture is so unbelievably fine and smooth, yet it is fluffy, moist and soft.. I really can't describe how good it is. I wonder if my expensive Lurpak unsalted butter had anything to do with it ^^? Anyways, between fatty hubby and me, we too almost polished off a loaf! I normally don't like my cakes fresh from the oven, but this is really oh-so really, really GOOD! 

An exceptional and ultimate indulgent banana cake we all love! A keeper for sure! (^^)