High Altitude Bourbon Banana Pudding Cake
A moist and luscious banana pudding cake with milk and bourbon soaked vanilla cake, filled with homemade banana pudding and topped with fluffy whipped cream.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Medium Saucepan
- Rimmed Half-Sheet Pan (@13x18 inches)
- 9x13 Baking Dish
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
Ingredients
Banana Milk
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 medium bananas, very ripe
- 1 vanilla bean
Vanilla Cake
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites only (save the leftover yolks for the custard)
- 1 ½ cups whole buttermilk
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Banana Custard
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 ¼ cups banana milk (reserve the rest of the banana milk for brushing over the cake)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
Other
- 2 tbsp good-quality bourbon (optional)
Whipped Cream
- 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Banana Milk
- Pour the milk into a saucepan. Peel the bananas, slice them into 1/2 inch slices, and add the sliced bananas to the milk.
- Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a paring knife, and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the vanilla bean to the milk.
- Over medium heat, bring the milk just to a simmer. Remove from the heat, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours, or overnight, to infuse the milk with the flavor of the vanilla and bananas.
- When you're ready to make the banana custard, remove and discard the bananas and the vanilla bean from the milk. Measure out 2 1/4 cups of the banana milk to use in the custard, and reserve the rest for brushing over the cake.
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.Line a rimmed 13x18 half-sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper. Snip the corners of the paper and crease the edges so the paper fits inside the pan, completely covering the bottom of the pan and extending up the sides.Lightly spray the paper with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until combined and smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Pour the batter into the parchment lined pan.
- Bake the cake on the center rack for about 17-18 minutes, until baked through and the center of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the cake on a cooling rack to cool while you make the custard.
Banana Custard
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar and corn starch. Gradually whisk in the egg yolks and banana milk until smooth.
- Over medium heat, whisk the custard constantly until it starts to boil and thicken. It should take about 10-12 minutes of whisking before it begins to boil and thicken. Once this happens, continue to cook, whisking constantly, for 1 full minute.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Let the custard cool at room temperature for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until no longer steaming hot.
Assembly
- After letting the cake and pudding cool to room temperature, you can assemble the cake.
- Lay a second piece of parchment paper on top of the cake, set a large cutting board on top of the paper, and flip the baking sheet over onto the cutting board. Peel off the parchment paper on the bottom of the cake (which is now facing up).
- Cut the cake in half, so you have two 9x13 inch rectangles. Carefully, lift one section of cake off the paper and place in your 9x13 baking dish.Tip: Transferring a large piece of cake like this can be tricky, but if it breaks, don't worry. No one will know the difference once it's all layered with pudding and covered with whipped cream. If you have a large cake lifter, you can use that to help lift the cake into the pan. Or, you can try cutting the paper down the center, lift each section of cake up by the paper, and flip it over into the pan. It could also make it easier to cut each large section of cake in half again, and transfer the smaller sections into the pan.
- Once you have your first layer of cake in the pan, lightly prick it all over with a wooden skewer.
- Combine the leftover banana milk with the bourbon (if using), and use a pastry brush to brush half of the milk/bourbon mixture over the cake.Tip: If you don't want your cake to be very "wet", you don't need to use all the milk. But the milk soak keeps the cake so soft and moist, even when served cold, similar to a tres leches cake.
- Spread all of the banana custard over the bottom layer of cake.
- Place the second section of cake on top of the custard. Lightly prick the cake all over with a wooden skewer, and brush the rest of the milk/bourbon mixture over the cake.
- Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for several hours, until chilled.
Whipped Cream
- In a bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cold heavy whipping cream and vanilla until it starts to thicken. Gradually sprinkle in the powdered sugar and continue to beat until the whipped cream is thick enough to hold its shape.Tip: This method makes a "stabilized" whipped cream, that won't deflate on the cake. You have to be sure to whip it long enough, though. Too soft, and the cream will deflate as it sits.
- Spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cake and serve.
- Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
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