Cooking with Kids is an ongoing series where we share recipes that are easy enough to make with a two-year-old. If you’re new to the series, our first post that provides our detailed tips for cooking with little ones.

I hear that all of this time at home is leading to more baking. We’re definitely in that boat, and no one’s complaining that there’s too much cake in the house (yet!). If you’re in the !bake-more-cakes! camp, we’re sharing our favorite banana cake recipe below. The cake is great, but what really sets it apart is the frosting extremely exquisite decorations.

We love a good banana cake. Like many of you, I throw any and all over-ripe bananas in the freezer. Most get used for smoothies or bread, but today’s cake is our absolute favorite way to use those bananas.

When it comes to my freezer technique, I don’t have a special method – just throw them in with their peel on. If they’re going to be used for smoothies, I peel them with a knife while still frozen. If they’re going to be used for baking, I let them thaw slightly and then remove the slimy peel before throwing them into a mixing bowl.

Cake Decorating with Kids

NOW, when it comes to decorating a cake, here’s what I know. If you have kids that like to help, step away from the cake and let them go wild. There’s nothing that a kid likes more than taking on the serious job of decorating a cake. Have you watched your kid decorate? That smile is so big, and they are so proud of their work. For this cake, throw your expectations out the window and embrace their excitement.

In our house Alex likes to decorate cakes, but Sweet-Tooth-Luc LOVES to decorate them. We made this particular cake for Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We had just gotten back from a trip, and I didn’t plan ahead, but I knew that we had pipe cleaners. While gathering those, I found a few pompoms. I gave all of the supplies to Luc, and didn’t interfere as he created these cake-toppers.

The one area where they wanted my help was to write a sign saying “Welcome to the Cat in the Hat’s Birthday on March 2nd”. I did try to explain the difference between the Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss, but they were having none of it. Now I want to do on the street interviews with random kids to find out when they start to differentiate between the Doc and the Cat.

Banana Cake

• 1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas
• 2 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
• Place 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice in the 1 1/2 cups milk. Mix together the mashed bananas with the remaining 1 Tbsp of lemon juice.
• Beat together the butter, brown and white sugars until combined. Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Mix on high until light and fluffy.
• Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in the bananas.
• Place the cakes in the oven and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. With a cake this moist, I find that baking times can vary (especially if you’re using a different sized cake pan). I start checking the cake around 30 minutes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/3 cup softened butter
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

• Cream together the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the lemon juice and zest. Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency and sweetness.

Layer the cake with a spread of frosting between the layers and on top. Your work is done. Hand the frosted cake over to your kiddos and let them go crazy! They will remember the decorating just as much, if not more, than actually eating the cake. xo