My son, I like to call him “my little messy baker”! He loves being in the kitchen with me and learning new recipes. More specifically, he loves baking. I think it has something to do with that sweet tooth of his! Must be all those Oreo cookies I ate when I was pregnant with him!! The reason I call him “my little messy baker”? Well, he makes a huge mess every time he bakes! I am trying to teach him that we clean as we go. He is learning.
Messy or not, I am thrilled that he has taken such an interest being in the kitchen with me. He has always had such a curious mind. He loves figuring out how things are made or put together. I used to always tell him that I thought he would make a great Architect or Engineer some day. But, the more I see him in the kitchen I think he could have a career in cooking or baking. Coming from a family of artists & chefs, I definitely see he has some artistic abilities. Since baking is a science as well an art, he is enjoying learning how to use certain ingredients to achieve different outcomes. He always did enjoy those Science Fairs at school! So, who better to master baking than someone who loves to figure out putting all these ingredients together to create a magical treat.
My son, the little messy baker!
Since he seems to have mastered chocolate chip cookies (which he requests to make ALL the time), he asked if he could make something different. My answer? “of course you can make something different”. So, we put our heads together, looked around our kitchen to see what ingredients we had to work with and came up with this rolled cake. I may be a little bias, since it was my son, but I have to tell you that this cake was super delicious. It was light from whipping the air into the egg whites. It had just the right amount of banana flavor. The cheesecake filling paired very well with the banana cake. We topped our slices of the cake with some homemade Whipped Cream.
Of course my wheels were turning. I wanted to play around with ingredients. I have several ideas for ingredients that could be added to this cake to kick it up a notch. My son wanted to keep it simple so we went with his idea and I think he did fantastic!
Stay tuned! Maybe I will make my way soon.
Banana Cheesecake Roll
Makes 1 Cake
Ingredients
Filling:
11 oz., Cream Cheese, softened
1 Teaspoon, Sour Cream
1/2 Cup, Sugar
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons, Milk or Cream
1 Teaspoon, Pure Vanilla Extract
Cake:
1/2 Cup, All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon, Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon, Baking Soda
4 Eggs (White & Yolks separated)
1 Teaspoon, Pure Vanilla Extract
1/3 plus another 1/2 Cups, Sugar (divided)
3 Bananas, mashed
Garnish:
- Whipped Cream
- Confectioner’s Sugar
Instructions
Preheat Oven to 375 Degrees.
Spray a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the top of the paper also. Make sure you spray all sides of the baking sheet also so the cake doesn’t stick to it. Set the tray aside.
My son, the little messy baker!
Make Cheesecake filling: In a standing mixer or small bowl, add the cream cheese, sour cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Using a whisk attachment, beat until nice and smooth. Add the vanilla, mix again. Add the egg and mix. Add the milk (or cream) and mix again to combine all ingredients. Spread the cheesecake onto the baking tray (should give you a thin layer of cheesecake). Set aside.
Cheesecake filling
Make the Cake: In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder & baking soda and set aside. In a mini chopper or food processor, add the bananas. Blend to mash up bananas (turn into a banana puree), set aside. In a standing mixer, add the egg yolks and vanilla. Using the whisk attachment, beat them together until they become thick and more yellow in color. Slowly add 1/3 cup of the sugar, mixing well. Add the mashed bananas and mix again.
Whipping Egg Whites
Whip Egg Whites: In a larger mixing bowl (preferably a metal bowl), add the egg whites. Using a beater, start to whip them until you have soft peaks. You should be able to pickup some of the egg whites with your beater, but they are not stiff yet. While continuing to beat the egg whites, start to slow add in the 1/2 cup of sugar. Continue beating until you have stiff peaks (the mixture should be able to stay on your beater when picked up).
Combine the 2 mixtures: Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture. Use a scraper to gently fold/combine the ingredients together. Slowly add in the flour mixture and continue to fold the ingredients until all combined. Pour the batter onto the baking sheet (on top of the cheesecake filling) and carefully spread the mixture to cover the pan.
Bake in the oven for approx. 20 minutes until cake is cooked through. Have a clean kitchen towel ready before taking cake out of the oven. Also have a cooling rack ready.
Fresh out of the oven
Remove cake from the oven and immediately sprinkle the entire top of the cake with Confectioner’s sugar (this will keep it from sticking to the towel. Place the kitchen towel over top of the cake and then place the cooling rack on top (place the rack upside down, on top of the towel/cake). Carefully turn the cake over (holding onto the cooling rack). Once turned over, remove the baking sheet by holding on and pulling up on the parchment paper. This should reveal your cheesecake filling layer on the top.
Flipped over, Cheesecake on top
Roll up the Cake: starting on one of the shorter ends of the cake, start rolling up the cake. Use the towel as a guide as you roll the cake. Leave the cake (seam side down) on the cooling rack and let it completely cool off.
Rolled up & cooling off!
Once cooled, sprinkle with Confectioner’s sugar, slice and serve. Serve with a side of Whipped Cream or Ice Cream.
Mangia! Enjoy!
Notes
Be sure to check out the following link to learn more about Science-Backed Health Benefits of Bananas by Well-Being Secrets: http://www.well-beingsecrets.com/bananas-health-benefits/
It is so nice that your son bakes with you. It is great mother-son bonding!And it looks great, too.
Thanks Mindy! Yes, he is loving time in the kitchen, baking. He tells me he loves to bake, not cook! funny that he realizes the difference already. Bonus for me as I love spending time with him!