Banana Nutella Cake

The first time I tasted this cake at Alice's Tea Cup, I was in love. The cake is a moist and delicious banana cake with Nutella spread between the layers and topped off with cream cheese icing and some toasted pecans. (My picture doesn't do the cake justice.)

To start off with, I needed to find the perfect banana cake recipe. After trying about a dozen different recipes, I stumbled upon one I modified to be the perfect banana cake recipe. Thanks to Martha Stewart, this recipe is pretty great -- minus the filling and topping included in that recipe. The buttermilk adds the best touch, both taste and technique-wise. I have baked the cake in 2 9-inch cake pans, but have also baked it in a baker's sheet pan and layered it from there (making a layer cake in the shape of a large loaf).

For the filling, I suggest melting the Nutella in a heavy saucepan over low heat before spreading onto the cake. This will make the spreading much easier. If you are doing thin layers of cake, make the Nutella even thinner. (Another tip is to purchase Nutella from Cost Plus World Market. They make their own brand, and it's cheaper. Still delicious, but cheaper.)

About the icing, I must admit I like my icing on the less-sweet side of things. My cream cheese icing consists of:

1 stick butter, room temperature
2 pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. good vanilla extract (I'm enamored of the vanilla bean paste Williams-Sonoma carries.)
1-1 1/2 c. powdered sugar or to taste (feel free to add a quarter of a cup at a time, until the flavor is right)

Beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add powdered sugar in small amounts, until desired consistency and taste are achieved. Remember...less is more.

Make sure the banana cake is cooled. To prepare as shown above, slice each round layer horizontally, so you end up with 4 layers. Place bottom layer on serving dish or cake plate prepared with parchment strips along the edges (to prevent filling/icing from dripping onto the plate). Place bottom layer on plate, and fill almost to the edge with Nutella. Place another layer on top, and repeat until last layer is placed. Ice with room temperature icing. Note: if preparing the cake in advance, spread the thinnest layer of icing possible, and refrigerate. Just before serving, spread another layer of icing. The thin layer of icing placed on the cake before refrigeration is called a crumb coat. After icing is complete -- and just before serving -- add toasted whole pecans to the top/sides of the cake.

Voila! Banana Nutella cake!