Piano Cake!

Ok, so this may be the coolest thing I have ever made. Seriously. I mean, I hope to top it someday, but I am really pleased with how this turned out! A friend of mine is a piano teacher, and his birthday was yesterday, so I made him a piano cake! It was a banana chocolate chip cake (yum!) frosted with chocolate frosting, then carved into the shape of a piano.


So here are the relevant recipes and instructions...

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 Tbl. baking soda
• 4 large bananas, mashed
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sift together the flours, sugar, and baking soda in one bowl. In another, combine bananas, eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and milk. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones, mixing just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased and floured 9x13" pan. Bake 35 min at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.



Yummmm...look at all those chocolate chips! It would be excellent with some chopped walnuts added in, too.

Chocolate Frosting (adapted from Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting)

• 1/2 c. butter
• 2/3 c. cocoa powder
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 4-6 Tbl. milk

Let butter soften to room temperature. Stir until soft and creamy, then stir in cocoa powder. Add a pinch of salt if your butter is unsalted. Stir in instant coffee and vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar about a cup at a time and milk about a tablespoon at a time, stirring until smooth. Add extra milk as needed to obtain a spreadable consistency.

To Assemble Piano Cake (idea taken from Betty Crocker)

Carve the cake into the shape of a grand piano. Carve a piano bench out of the larger scrap.


Frost cake.


Use white chocolate and dark chocolate rectangles to make keys for the keyboard. I also used white chocolate and black gel icing to make sheet music (it's propped up with a couple little pieces of dark chocolate). Enjoy!