Banana mascarpone layer cake

When I first started cooking/baking I wasn't very good. Or, more appropriately, the food I made wasn't very good. I remember pudding I had to drain through a sieve and my suggestion that Jennifer should use cream of tarter to thicken her spaghetti sauce. Yuck! And although I moaned and groaned like any normal teenager would when my mom instituted the rule that Jennifer and I were each required to plan and prepare two meals a week, I am now thankful that I was required to learn to cook at an early age. (I'm sure Justin is grateful too, since I'm sure it has cut down on the number of kitchen disasters.)

Twenty-one years later (did I mention it was my birthday two days ago?), I now have a few thoughts on how to improve your culinary skills. The most important is to learn to identify the recipes you can faithfully recreate. If you're feeling adventurous/unsure, reserve that recipe for a time you're not hosting guests or feeling particularly broke. (Failed recipes can be quite expensive, as you not only have to buy ingredients that get dumped into the trash, but also the pizza afterwards!)

Anyways, how does this cake pertain to today's musings? I think it is a good stepping stone to improve your culinary skills if you've already baked a cake before, but want to try something a bit more advanced. Also, it is delicious and frosting can hide a lot of cooking uh-ohs!

I first made this cake four years ago and Justin has been requesting it ever since. It combines the best part of carrot cake (the frosting, but here improved with the addition of mascarpone) and banana bread (the moist, sweet taste.) It is quite dense, so should probably yield at least 16 slices if you're serving it for a birthday party, as I was. Speaking of birthday parties, I nominate Justin to bake next year's cake!

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
Scant 1 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (~3 large), plus 4 large bananas, thinly sliced
1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons buttermilk
6 large egg whites
2 cups chilled mascarpone (16 oz)
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

 Directions

1 -  Preheat the oven to 325 F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper; butter the parchment paper. Dust the pan all over with flour, tapping out any excess. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2 - In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Add the mashed bananas and beat the mixture until smooth. Add half of the dry ingredients and beat at low-speed until the batter is moistened. Beat in half of the buttermilk, then add the remaining dry ingredients and the remaining buttermilk.
3 - In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until firm peaks form. (The best way to do this is to have the beaters and the bowl cold. I put them in the freezer 20 or so minutes before beginning.) Beat one-fourth of the egg whites into the batter at low speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the rest of the whites until no streaks remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake the cakes for ~ 40 minutes, until the top is golden and springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; the top will be slightly cracked. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.
4 - In a medium sized bowl, beat the mascarpone with the confectioners' sugar at medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Using a large serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Place the top layer cut side up on a cake plate and spread with 1/4 of the mascarpone frosting. Arrange half of the bananas in a single layer on the frosting. Repeat with two more layers. Place the top of the second cake atop the three layers, cut side down and frost the top and sides. (I would have preferred to have a bit more frosting. Consider adding 4 additional ounces of mascarpone if you're not very comfortable with frosting cakes.) Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.