Bubbie’s Banana Split Torte
“I have been making this recipe for years and consider it a family recipe,” said Bubbie Czelatdko. “My aunts would bring it to parties and everyone liked it because it tastes like a banana split.”
Makes 12 servings
Crust: 1⁄4 cup packed brown sugar
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup flour 3⁄4 cup ground walnuts Filling:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 eggs (see note) 2 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Top layer:
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen strawberries, thawed, drained
6 ripe bananas, sliced lengthwise
1 container (about 12 ounces) whipped topping, thawed
Quarters or halves of maraschino cherries for garnish For crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, flour and walnuts. Mix well, then pat down onto bottom of a 13-by-9-inch glass pan.
Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Fork up the entire crust, remove 1/8 cup for garnish, then gently press the rest back into pan. Doing this will make the crust light and crispy.
For filling: In a standing mixer, combine butter, eggs, powdered sugar and vanilla and beat 20 minutes on high speed. Spread over completely cooled crust and let chill 20 minutes.
Do not rush this cooling process or the crust will stick to the pan.
To finish: Layer top with pineapple, followed by strawberries and then bananas, setting them cut side down. You may need to cut some of the bananas in half crosswise in order to cover the entire top of the torte.
Seal to edges with whipped topping to prevent bananas from browning and garnish with reserved crumbs from crust and maraschino cherries. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then cut into squares.
Note: Because this filling is not cooked, those with immune problems should substitute pasteurized eggs. The recipe was tested with unpasteurized eggs.