Thank you to everyone who shared photos of your Cherry Shortbread Crumble Bars. Many of you adapted the original recipe to match your tastes or use what you had on hand. It’s always a joy to see how different bakers personalize a recipe.
The March Bake Club winner is Cindy from Arvada, Colorado. She has been notified and her prize is on the way.
Also — April marks the 2-year anniversary of the Of Batter and Dough Bake Club! Seeing your bakes each month is one of my favorite things. Thank you for sharing your creations.
The April, 2021 Bake Club Challenge Recipe is…
Cream Cakes!
This month you have a choice: bake the Banana Cream Cake or the Coconut Cream Cake. If you can’t decide, bake both — each submission counts as a separate entry for the prize.
Both cakes feature a generous layer of one of my favorite components: pastry cream. A cake filled with pastry cream is hard to resist.
The Coconut Cream Cake is assembled as a layer cake with a thick coconut-flavored pastry cream between the layers. The Banana Cream Cake is baked in a Bundt pan and filled with banana pastry cream, Twinkie-style.
When I developed the Banana Cream Cake, I initially planned a layer cake like the Coconut Cream Cake, using pastry cream without folding in whipped cream. That version yields a thick, stable filling perfect for stacking. For the banana version, I preferred a lighter texture created by folding whipped cream and mashed banana into the pastry cream. That produced a softer filling that couldn’t support a top layer, so the fix was to bake the cake in a Bundt pan and pipe the filling into the center after baking.
For frosting, my preference is Cream Cheese Buttercream, but you can also use American Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream — choose whatever you like best.
The April Bake Club Prize:
Le Creuset Silicone Craft Series Utensil Set with Stoneware Crock
This prize is one I gave away last year and am repeating because these silicone spatulas are indispensable in my kitchen. I use them constantly for a wide range of tasks. They are heat resistant up to 500°F and available in several colors. If you win, you may choose the color you prefer.
How to participate in the Bake Club
Sign Up to Join The Bake Club
You’ll receive an email each month when a new recipe challenge and prize are announced. This is also the way I’ll contact the winner.
When you sign up you’ll provide your name and email. If you win, I’ll email you to arrange prize delivery.
If you’ve signed up in the past, there’s no need to sign up again.
Bake This Month’s Challenge and Show It Off!
Snap a photo of your bake and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #OfBatterAndDoughBakeClub, or upload it to the Of Batter and Dough Facebook page, or email it to [email protected].
Sharing your photo enters you automatically to win the monthly prize. Submit your photo before the deadline.
Want a bonus entry?
Leave a comment and rating for the cake you bake — Coconut Cream or Banana Cream — and you’ll receive a bonus entry.
