Banana And White Chocolate Cake With Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Icing

Serves 12

Ingredients

Cake 
1 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup castor sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream or yogurt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped white chocolate
4 cups self-raising flour, sifted

Icing
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chopped, softened
1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar
2 cups cream cheese, chopped, softened
3 tsp vanilla bean paste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and line the base and sides of two 15cm round cake pans. Beat butter and sugars together in an electric mixer until thick and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and bananas, then fold through the white chocolate and flour. Divide between pans and bake for 1 hour 40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool completely in the pans then invert and slice horizontally in half.

For the icing, place butter and icing sugar in an electric mixer and beat until pale.

Add cream cheese and beat for 8 minutes until thick and fluffy. Place one cake layer on a cake stand and spread with 1/3 cup icing. Top with another cake and repeat with remaining two layers.

Finish with a layer of cake then take 3/4 cup of icing and using a palette knife, spread over the outside of the cake, carefully scraping along the edges to remove any crumbs. This is your crumb layer, which will ensure no crumbs ends up in your final layer of icing. Spread remaining icing over the cake. Chill for 30 minutes then serve.