A Sweet Ending To A Perfect Day

My husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and fell in love with the beauty of the islands. So, for our daughters first birthday, we wanted to recreate that feeling of Aloha Spirit by throwing a luau in her honor.

Feeling very optimistic I decided that, rather than purchase a pre-designed cake from Publix, I would make this a birthday to remember...and make her cake. But not just any cake. It had to be special...and it had to be fit for a Hawaiian princess.

The cake is actually banana bread. When we were in Hawaii, one of our fondest memories is of the "road to Hana", on the island of Maui, where we bought the most delicious banana bread from a young lady who managed a quaint roadside stand. Although I've never been able to recreate that banana bread, this recipe is pretty darn good.

The cake is two tiers, and each tier has two layers. Between each cake layer is a thick layer of the best cream cheese frosting you've ever tasted. After stacking the layers and tiers, and icing the cake with cream cheese frosting, I placed the chocolate-filled cookies around the edge of the bottom layer. Then, I sprinkled brown sugar "sand" atop the bottom layer, added a few seashells and a few more cookies to frame my daughters name. The grand finale is the bouquet of hot pink hibiscus that tops the cake. It was truly a sweet ending to a perfect day.

Here are the recipes...

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees - Bake for aprx 60 minutes (the time will vary depending on the size of the pan)

***The recipe calls for mixing dry ingredients separately, but I just throw everything into one bowl and it always turns out delicious.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted (and cooled)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
*optional - chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut (I've tried all of these optional ingredients and they are all fabulous!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Mix together...

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla