Recipe reviews!

Blank printable recipe card from Graphic Garden

Last weekend I made two new recipes and combined them into one dessert.  It turned out fantastic!  I had seen Sandi's recipe for Banana Split Cake and wanted to try it for our church potluck.

 I did adapt the recipe just a tiny bit to make it a little lighter, but didn't change much.  The crust part called for 3/4 cup butter, and I tried cutting it to 1/2 cup, but that was not quite enough.  So I melted 2 more tablespoons and added them in.

And I did cut the amount of butter in half for the filling, and used 2 eggs (it called for 1 or 2) to make up for any difference.  It worked out just fine to use 1/2 cup butter; still tasted plenty rich.  (Some people have questioned the use of uncooked eggs in this dessert.  Sandi has had no problems with their use, so I went ahead and used them.  I do use good-quality eggs and felt it would probably be fine.   And it was.)

I only used 2 bananas because I only had two, and I tossed the slices with lemon juice rather than simply sprinkling it over.  My cake was going to be chilled overnight and I didn't want to take any chances with the bananas getting brown.

Photo by Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage

The only other change I made was with the topping. The recipe calls for cherry pie filling, and Sandi also suggested sliced strawberries as an alternative.  But I had bags of frozen strawberries in the freezer from our strawberry-picking this summer and wanted to use them.  So I went looking for a  homemade strawberry pie filling recipe.  This Homemade Strawberry Pie Filling from Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life worked admirably.

Photo by Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life

Jocelyn's recipe calls for fresh strawberries, but mine were frozen.  So I thawed them enough so that they were sliceable.  Then I sliced up five cups' worth and used them in the recipe as directed.  When the filling was cooked, I cooled it completely at room temperature.  I then scraped the filling into a container and chilled it overnight to add to the dessert the next morning.

I assembled the dessert all the way through adding the banana layer and then the pineapple layer and then refrigerated it overnight. In the morning, I added cool whip and then the strawberry filling layer.

The dessert turned out perfectly and got great reviews from our potluck crowd and especially from my hubby.  The strawberry pie filling would work wonderfully in many other desserts, and if you visit Jocelyn's blog, you will be sure to find more great ideas for its use.

Happy baking!