The Northwest Voice

Tonya Pfennig's family has been making this recipe for as long as she can recall.
"I have personally been making this recipe for close to 20 years, but the earliest I can remember enjoying it as a kid was a family reunion when I was 6 or 7 at Minidoka Dam located in Southern Idaho back around 1974," she said.
According to Tonya, during family reunions, which always seemed to take place in the middle of the summer, the biggest hit with all of the cousins was the freshly-made rootbeer and the cold desserts, and the banana split cake always topped the list.
"I have a feeling my grandmother liked making the cake because it didn't require any cooking, and everyone knows you don't want a hot oven in summer," she said. "I hope those that make the recipe enjoy the end result as much as I do."

Banana Split Cake

Bottom crust:

1 box (12 or 16 oz) ‘Nilla Wafers (crushed)

1 cup butter - melted

Mix together crushed wafers with butter, press mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan, refrigerate while preparing the rest of the recipe. (1/4 cup of crumb mixture may be saved to sprinkle over top of the cake once it's assembled)

2 eggs

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs for 20 minutes. Don't take any shortcuts with the mixing time, this process allows the eggs to essentially cook chemically with the sugar, I wash the eggs with warm soapy water first to make sure that I've taken all possible precautions. While letting the mixer do it's work, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Once the butter cream mixture is done, pour on top of bottom crust. Place the following in order on top:

6 bananas peeled and cut length-wise, placed sliced side down

1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained

1 pint of fresh strawberries, sliced

1 16-ounce container of whipped topping spread over top of fruit

Maraschino cherries - halved

Once everything is assembled in order, sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top of the cake and place the halved cherries in whatever pattern appeals to you. Alternatively, walnuts can be used instead of the crumb mixture.

Refrigerate for 4 - 5 hours (or overnight) before serving.