My Culinary Adventures: Frozen Bananas and Chocolate Cake

During training, we were all fascinated by the idea of chocolate-covered bananas on a stick, which women would sell right out of their houses for a few cents.  Many of my friends absolutely loved them, as they were a savory treat in the middle of a hot day.  The choco-banano chocolate didn't quite satisfy my sweet tooth, as the chocolate was flavorless (in my opinion) and took away from the banana flavor.  I much preferred the paletas, which were homemade popsicles that came in many flavors such as chocolate, coconut, peanut, and mixed fruit. I bought some metal paleta cups but still haven't found the motivation to make any yet.  I did, however, make some frozen regular bananas on a stick, and they have proven to be a refreshing afternoon snack :).  The bananas from my banana tree were ripe and had all fallen off into the plastic bag I had put over them to keep the bugs away.  I had more than enough for myself so I gifted several to Brian, cooked and baked with others, and froze the rest!

I also baked a chocolate cake one day, using a mix I bought in Progreso, with cream cheese frosting.  I wanted to practice frosting a cake and I'd say my first attempt didn't go too badly, given that I didn't have all the proper cake frosting tools, but I made do.  I only have one round glass baking dish, so I poured the batter into that.  Everything seemed to be going well until I checked on it later and found that the batter had exploded like a volcano all over my toaster oven!  I guess the baking dish wasn't big enough!  Chocolate cake was overflowing over the sides and getting all over the bottom of the oven, but I quickly cleaned that up and let me tell you... half-cooked chocolate cake batter is delish! ;).  The cake did turn out fine in the end and I let it cool overnight.  The next day I frosted it and sprinkled cinnamon and nutmeg over the frosting to give it extra flavoring.  Sliced bananas went around the base and all over the top as the final step.  I shared the cake with the nieces of my host mom and they loved it!  One of the girls asked if I could make the same exact cake for her in May for her daughter's birthday.  I'll have to be careful about the cake explosion next time.  I'm thinking bake it in two instances and then make a layered cake instead.  Hopefully it turns out well!