Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting! yum

              Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

                  This is amazing! I made it for my brother's birthday and was awesome!

           My little brother requested the blue tint with a couple drops of food coloring.

                          Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
CAKE:
1 package plain yellow cake mix
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 medium-size ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Blend cake mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon mashed bananas, water, oil and eggs on medium speed until batter looks well blended.
Divide batter between the 2 pans and place in oven side by side.
Bake cakes until they are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean, 30-32 minutes.  Remove the pans from the oven and place them on cooling racks to cool for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of each layer and invert on a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up.  Allow them to cool completely before you frost them.    

FROSTING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temp.
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), at room temp.
3 and ¾ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (sift first, measure second).
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Only make the frosting when you are ready to frost the cake.  Place the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl and blend on low until combined, 30 seconds.  Add the sugar, a bit at a time, blending until the sugar is well incorporated.  Add the vanilla, then increase the speed to medium and blend the frosting until fluffy.

Before frosting cake, slice the very top of the bottom layer cake off, so that it is flat.  Otherwise, the second layer will slide off when frosted.  Frost top of bottom layer, then put top layer on.  Then frost sides and top.
Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.  The frosting will firm up in the fridge.

Note:  The cake can be stored (BEFORE YOU FROST) at room temp for up to one week, covered in plastic wrap.  Or you can freeze it (UNFROSTED) in aluminum foil for longer.
You can store the frosted cake for 1-2 days in the fridge before you serve it.