• Banana Cake Layers
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. (We used a 10 inch bundt cake pan which has a baking capacity of 12 cups.) This recipe makes about 8 cups of batter.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds, set aside.
• In another bowl, add the buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas.  Blend and set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer, add the slightly softened butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. 
• Gradually add the white and brown sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs one at a time mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid.  Mix just until well blended- be careful not to over-mix.
• Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick can be inserted and removed with no crumbs or just a few crumbs attached. *Baking times may vary depending on size/type of pan, etc.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before turning out.

Vanilla Pudding Cream Filling

• Combine the instant vanilla pudding mix and heavy cream in a mixing bowl. I prefer to mix with a hand held mixer, but a whisk is fine too. If using a mixer, start on low speed until well combined. Then, switch to medium-high speed and whip the pudding until thick and fluffy.
• If pudding "mousse" is too thick, mix in small amounts of heavy cream to reach desired consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

• Chill the mixing bowl and beaters/ whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes. 
• Pour the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla into the chilled mixing bowl, begin beating on low speed gradually increasing to medium high speed. 
• Mix just until stiff peaks form. (This means that when the mixer is lifted, the whipped cream holds a peak.)

Cream Cheese Glaze (optional)

• With an electric mixer (we used a hand mixer), add the softened cream cheese to a bowl and mix until smooth.
• Then, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.(You can adjust the consistency as needed by adding more powdered sugar to thicken, or a bit more milk to soften.)

Cake Assembly

• Carefully slice the bundt cake horizontally, moving your knife in and out as you rotate the cake, until you have two halves. I did this step when the cake was room temperature, however many bakers prefer to split the cake when it is partially frozen.
• It is helpful to slide the top half onto a foil-wrapped cake board so that you don't have to pick it up (especially if the cake is room temperature or seems fragile).
• Place the bottom half onto your cake base or pedestal if you haven't already. Spread or pipe on the whipped vanilla pudding "mousse". We did this with a large star/french tip (8B)for a more decorative look. Layer on pieces of vanilla wafers, and whipped cream (reserving enough whipped cream for the top also).
• Add the top layer of the cake. Add the cream cheese glaze (optional). We did this with a piping bag with the tip snipped away. Then, pipe or dollop whipped cream on top of that. (We used a piping bag with the tip snipped away). Then top with the Vanilla Wafers.

Refrigeration

• This cake should be refrigerated because of the filling and frosting. Remove the cake from the refrigerator about 2-3 hours before serving for best texture and flavor.