Frosted Banana Bars

CAPTION:   Frosted Banana Bars, yum.  Aster is in a "sprinkle stage" now so, yes, the sprinkles are her touch, but they do make the cake look more festive.

By Kevin Williams

Yesterday Aster and I decided to do some baking and the frosted banana bars that I found in an Amish family cookbook beckoned.

CAPTION:  The frosting is pretty thick, but once you get it all onto the cake, use the flat backside of a spatula to spread it and it'll go on nicely.

Aster is getting easier and more disciplined when it comes to baking.   A year ago we'd try it and she'd lose her enthusiasm for it halfway through a recipe and she'd become distracted by something else.  But more and more she is sticking with me through the whole processed and is much more engaged as she can do more and more.  With this recipe when we got to the step about mashing bananas before I was barely done saying the word "mashing" had picked out the correct tool for doing just that.  So Aster eagerly set out to mash (okay, pulverize) the bananas.

Baby Bea sits cotentedly (generally) watching everything that is going on.   Anyway, this recipe is an absolute, unequivocal winner.   Aster declared the frosting to be "the best frosting ever."  Of course she's only three so she hasn't tasted that many frostings but it WAS good.   The recipe is called "bars" but it comes out as a giant cake but, Aster, a stickler for detail then busied herself correcting me all day long when I referred to it as "banana cake" ("bars, dada.")

So want to try this winner of a recipe?  I'm sure we'll be making this again sometime!

Frosted Banana Bars

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Serves: 30 bars

Ingredients

• 1 /2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1 /2 cups ripe bananas, mashed (3 medium bananas)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 eggs
• FROSTING
• 1 /2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
2. Beat in eggs, bananas, and vanilla.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.
5. Pour into greased 15 X 10 inch pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bars test done.
7. Cool.
8. For frosting: cream butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
9. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla.
10. Beat well.
11. Spread over bars.

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