Banana Roll with Cheesecake Filling

Oh my goodness.  It's almost too good to be true.  This cake is spectacular.

I sat down with my plate of two slices to munch on while I typed up this post and "The Mr." wanted to taste it.  I handed him my plate and a few minutes later, he handed me back an EMPTY plate, not even a bite left for me.  Good thing we have a whole cake, because both of us LOVED this.

The flavor reminds me of banana cream pie.  The cheesecake filling is smooth and creamy and is the perfect compliment to the lightly flavored banana cake.  The recipe also suggested adding a cream cheese frosting, but I feel like that is unnecessary and it would have made the cake too heavy.  Instead, I think serving it plain or with a dollop of whipped cream is a much better idea.   

Despite the long instructions, this cake wasn't hard to make.  Most cake rolls require rolling the cake twice, but not this one!  The layers bake together which makes this an absolute breeze to put together.  The only bad part was that it dirtied quite a few bowls, but I promise, once you take a bite of this cake, you won't care if it dirtied every single bowl in your kitchen, because it is SO WORTH IT!

Banana Roll with Cheesecake Filling

adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens
(Printable Recipe) and (Printable with Picture)

Cheesecake Filling:

1 (8 oz.) + 1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

3 Tbl. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Banana Cake:

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

4 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. + 1/2 c. sugar, divided

1/2 c. mashed banana (around 1 large banana)

4 egg whites

1/4 c. powdered sugar (for sprinkling over cake)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan with butter.  Line with parchment paper and grease with butter again, making sure to coat the entire surface and sides of the pan; set aside.  For the filling: In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the egg, milk and vanilla and beat until combined.  Spread in the prepared pan; set aside.  

For the cake:  In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.  In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla on medium speed until thick and lemon colored.  Gradually add 1/3 cup of sugar and beat well.  Stir in the mashed banana.  In a large, clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites on medium until soft peaks fork (tips curl).  Gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight)  Gently fold yolk mixture into beaten egg whites.  Gradually sprinkle the flour mixture evenly over egg mixture and fold together just until blended.  Carefully spread the batter evenly over the filling in the pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.  

Immediately loosen cake from sides of pan, sprinkle cake with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Place a wire cooling rack, upside down, on the top of the cake.  Carefully pick up both sides of the pan, while holding the rack and flip over.  The cake will now be on top of the towel on the cooling rack.  Carefully peel off parchment paper.  Starting with the short side, roll up cake as tightly as possible (don't roll up the towel with it).  Allow to cool completely on wire rack.  Slice and serve.  Wrap any leftover cake in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.  

Jenn's Notes:  I did not forget to type salt above, the recipe really did not call for any salt.  This cake is not hard to make.  Follow the instructions and I know it will work for you too.  I baked my cake for the full 20 minutes and it was perfect.