Winter has officially hit us here in Winnipeg, and significantly later in the year than usual. We fondly call our city “Winter-peg” as this place is known for horrendous temperatures that, once in a while, reach levels colder than Mars.
When I first moved here, I hated everything about the city. It was quite a drastic change from Hawaii, and from the ages of 13-17 I promised myself that I would get out of here as soon as I graduated high school. Fast forward a university degree and a few inter-continental backpacking trips, and I’m still here in good old Winterpeg. What can I say? Winnipeg grows on you.
I think when you’re faced with extreme weather circumstances year after year, there isn’t much to do except make the best of it. I don’t know a city that does that better than Winnipeg. It seems there’s a festival every month–winter or summer–and -40 Celsius certainly won’t stop a Winnipegger from a quick cross-country ski or a night of dancing downtown. When the entire city of Toronto shuts down during the first blizzard of the year (sorry Torontonians, but it’s all in jest <3), we’re happily sipping hot cocoas in cafés and towing along extra pairs of shoes to school so we can quickly kick off our dirty wet boots. And the best thing about our crazy winters? We always, without fail, have a white Christmas.
I know you enjoy making seasonal holiday treats filled with flavours like cinnamon and pumpkin, but this banana layer cake is a little outside the box for holiday desserts. Though the flavours may not be classic holiday, the sheer nature of this layer cake is comfy cozy. The silky smooth chocolate buttercream swirls around your tongue as the moist banana cake melts in your mouth and the crunchy banana chips and peanuts add some textural fun. Whatever the temperature in your neck of the woods, I hope your day is warm and cozy and filled with sugar. Enjoy 
- 1 cup softened butter, plus more for pans
- 2¼ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour, plus more for pans
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1½ cups mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)
- 1½ cups butter, softened
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 5 cups icing sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 TB each of crushed peanuts and banana chips
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour three* 6-inch cake pans.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on low until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then the sour cream and vanilla.
- Add the flour, salt, and baking soda and beat on low until just combined. Fold in the mashed bananas. The batter will be thick. Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes spring back to a touch.
- To make the frosting, add the butter, cocoa, icing sugar, and milk to a large mixing bowl. Begin by mixing on low, and increase to high as the icing sugar blends with the butter. Continue mixing until light and fluffy.
- To ice the cake, slice off the round tops of each cake layer and smooth on a thin layer of frosting between the layers. Then, frost the rest of the cake and top with crushed peanuts and banana chips.
Recipe adapted from Food.com
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