Banana Cream & Cornbread Lava Cake

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Make the cornbread cake. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three 8-inch round pans with parchment.
2. Blend the cornmeal until powder-fine for a smoother, more cake-like crumb.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, powdered cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and apple cider vinegar. Let stand for 5 minutes.
5. Add the oil, yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, and butter extract to the milk mixture and whisk until smooth.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
8. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the centers spring back when lightly pressed.
9. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out the layers. Wrap them while slightly warm and chill completely in the refrigerator or freezer.
10. Make the banana cream. In a saucepan, whisk together the mashed banana, sweetened condensed milk, milk, sugar, and cornstarch until smooth.
11. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick, glossy, and pudding-like, 4-6 minutes.
12. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla until fully smooth.
13. Cool for 10-15 minutes, then chill until completely cool. Do not assemble the cake while the filling is warm.
14. Make the cornbread cookie dough. Beat the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla bean paste until fluffy.
15. Add the ready-to-eat powdered cornmeal and heat-treated all-purpose flour and mix until a thick dough forms.
16. Chill for 15-20 minutes, then break into small pieces. Keep chilled until assembly.
17. Make the vanilla buttercream. Beat the butter for 2-3 minutes, until pale and creamy.
18. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt and mix on low until combined.
19. With the mixer on low, slowly stream in the room-temperature cream just until incorporated, stopping when the buttercream reaches your desired consistency.
20. Assemble the cake. Level the chilled cake layers if needed. Place the first layer on a cake board and pipe a tall, complete buttercream dam around the edge.
21. Spoon a thick layer of banana cream inside the dam, then scatter cornbread cookie dough pieces over the filling.
22. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the cookie dough to help secure the next cake layer.
23. Add the second cake layer and repeat the buttercream dam, banana cream, cookie dough, and thin layer of buttercream.
24. Add the final cake layer, apply a crumb coat, and chill for 30 minutes.
25. Frost the cake with the remaining vanilla buttercream.
26. Decorate with remaining banana cream, cornbread pieces, and fresh banana slices, if desired.

Helpful notes

• For the unbaked cornbread cookie dough, use commercially heat-treated all-purpose flour and cornmeal, both labeled ready-to-eat. Ordinary flour and cornmeal need cooking; home heat treatment is not a reliable substitute. Measure the cornmeal before blending it into a fine powder, and sift any lumps from the flour.