Monday, March 11, 2013

Banana Flips

My mother's birthday comes but once a year. As always, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted. I received an unorthodox cake request. Just to put things into perspective real quick, Last birthday she wanted
a toasted marshmallow chocolate cake:
Yeah, I know.

This year, her cravings took her back to a simpler era. A time of great changes and delectable snack cake accessibility. The 60's.

 The Banana Flip.

Many  snack cakes have come and gone, failing to stand the sugary test of time. But I have never before encountered such fervor for an extinct dessert item as I have when merely mentioning the infamous Nickles Banana Flip. For those not in the know, the Banana Flip was a simple banana flavored sponge cake, folded over like a taco and filled with banana cream.

View the beast in all it's glory:
These scrumptious yellow morsels petered out and vanished in the 70's never to be heard from again. Until my mother demanded that I extrapolate and rebuild the cakes sugary DNA like a snack cake alternate version of Jurassic Park.

I made a simple sponge cake batter and tossed in two mashed  'nanners. For good measure I also tossed in 1 tsp of banana flavoring because the  liquor store was closed. I would have preferred banana liqueur. If you know me, I firmly believe that the secret to baking is to drown everything in flavored liqueurs. Get people buzzed enough and hey! You are the best baker the world has ever known!


To emulate the taco structure of the little cakes, I spread a very thin later of the batter into the cute lil' 6 inch round pan. Think pancakes. After I smacked the cake out of the pan I simply folded it over carefully on a sheet of wax paper.



Next came the filling. I made a basic banana flavored buttercream frosting, and whipped the ever loving snot out of it.




Armed with with my good old piping bag, I fancily squirted the little cake tacos full of the heavenly goo,


This one was Mom's Banana cake taco, so I made it extra fancy and overflowing.

And thar she blows!



DA' RECIPE:


Banana Cake Taco:  (Because we can't officially call them flips!)

2 bananas (mashed like your childhood dreams)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 stick butter
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tsp banana flavour
1 Tsp vanilla flavour
1 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp baking soda
peench of salt (a peench is my own personal measuring unit for a very stingy pinch)

Banana Creme Filling:
1 1/2 cup salted butter (12 Tbsp)
3 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp milk
1 Tsp vanilla flavour
1 Tsp Banana Flavour
Peench of salt

Directions

  Focus your chi and envision your spirit animal. Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 6 inch round pan with butter and lightly coat in flour Mash up two bananas to a sticky, syrupy nectar.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. The butter should (always) be at room temperature. The butter is watching you! Mash it up with the banana goo and add it to the other ingredients.

 Mix in the eggs and flavourings. Beat it all together on a medium speed with either an electric mixer, or with your own brute strength (you tiger, you). Scoop a small amount of batter and spread a 1/4 inch layer into the 6 inch pan (One whopping spoonful). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan and invert it onto a sheet of wax paper or foil. Tap pan until the little sponge cake flops out decadently. Fold it over. Repeat process.

Makes 7-8 Cake Tacos

For the Filling,

Combine milk, butter, flavourings and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat frosting on highest speed for 5 minutes. Texture should be creamy, light and fluffy. Add an extra Tbsp of milk if it is too dry, or thick.

Pipe filling into cake tacos and enjoy!







 Oh, did I mention they were a HIT! Mom claimed they were as good as the original banana flip, if not better.

I imagine you can substitute the mashed bananas and banana extract for just about any other fruit your greedy, bacchanalian heart desires!



25 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting. I have been looking for these forever.

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  2. Oh my god. When I was young, I had one with my lunch every day in our school cafeteria. I have not been able to find one in years.

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  3. they didn't vanish off grocery shelves till 2005. they were however hard to find, and mostly served to stores in the midwest. Ocassionally they were found in vending machines in hospitals and other such places in the NE. They are now back in production and on the shelves again as of 2012

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  4. Nickles still makes Banana Flips. I bought some this past weekend at the Cash Market in Coraopolis, PA.

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  5. I just spent the entire afternoon making these. They are a total flop. I tried increasing the flour, I tried baking them a little longer, nothing. Don't waste your time. I even borrowed 2 6inch cake pans from the bakery I work at to make sure everything was just right

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    Replies
    1. Instead of greasing and flour in pans, use the cooking spray with flour in it. They will come out of the pans easily.

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  6. I ordered some from Sunrise Bakery in Hibbing MN and they were really really great...

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    Replies
    1. I looked them up and they are 18.99 per flip !!!! won't be ordering any, will make my own !

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    2. They are $18.99 for a package of FOUR, but okay.

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    3. Val, that is still expensive lol Making them is so much cheaper.

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  7. Been wanting a Banana flip 4 so long. Always was my favorite above all others. I Love Baking and am looking forward to trying your "Banana Cake Taco" thank you for posing it

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  8. I was a banana flip addict. If I could replicate the recipe I'd teach my grown kids and make them a family tradition. I'm going to try your recipe. Thank you for sharing.

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  9. I have been craving these and stumbled upon your recipe!! I was looking to see if I could still buy them but it seems I am going to have to try to make them.
    thank you for sharing the recipe!!

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  10. Oh my gosh, I tried this and wow. im hooked again.

    Thank you very much for this recipe.

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  12. Thank you, thank you. We had a Nickels bakery outlet store in our town where we got GREAT discounts. They have since closed and that make to sad. I always picked up 2 or 4 banana 🍌 flips when I went in there. How to find a recipe for the little spice cake they had. Found two on copycat recipes and they were horrible. Made them for Mom's birthday.

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  13. Yes. I remember these. Yummy. You are such a sweetie for doing this for momma!! Little Debbie has banana twins, they are close in flavor, but more like sticks than flips. :) Thank you for your generosity in sharing <3

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  14. This was the funniest recipe I've ever read! I loved it so much I read it at least 5 times and shared it with my family. Not only did I get the recipe I got a huge laugh, fantastic writing! You should write your own cookbook we would definitely buy it! :)

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  15. Taffy Corduroy, I want to personally thank you for this decadent recipe and putting our entire family in a sugarfat coma! While Mickey’s was a confectionary, cellophane wrapped masterpiece-with newcomers such as Little Debbie and Nickels acting as a distant second-I shall boldly pronounce our concoction as the Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla of all banana flips that have come before it! Yes, it was so luxurious and decadent that we only dared to eat half of the folded over, banana inspired, creme injected cake. Okay, this is the very first time I have used this word, but I believe it is apropos for the situation… our banana flip, inspired by you Taffy Corduroy, was transcendent! We treated this deliciously decadent cake with respect and leftovers. Thank you!

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  16. I'm making these this morning. They're falling apart when I flip them like a taco. Should I let them cool in the pan a bit before doing this?

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  17. Have been craving these for years. They were my favorite snack in my school lunches growing up. I made these and they were so good! Didn't have 6-inch pans, so I used 8-inch and it made 4 large flips.

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  18. Are you using 1 1/2 cups of butter or 12 tablespoons? 1 cup is 8 tablespoons, or is it supposed to be 1 1/2 sticks?

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