Bananas Foster Rum Cake

steps

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Gradually add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating just to combine. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Pour batter evenly into prepared cake rounds. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together. Add bananas and cinnamon and cook down until thick, stirring occasionally. Carefully add rum and cook for a few more minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and puree mixture until smooth. Set aside.
5. Make the rum syrup: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix.
6. Make the icing: In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip butter until aerated and creamed. Add vanilla and almond extracts and powdered sugar. Mix well to combine. Add regular cream cheese and mix until just incorporated, careful not to overwhip. Use a spatula to fold in creole cream cheese slowly to prevent breaking the icing.
7. Assemble the cake: Once cakes have fully cooled, carefully remove from pans. Identify one as the base and one as the top. Liberally brush the top of the base and the bottom of the top with the rum syrup until soaked but not soggy.
8. Spread a layer of banana filling across the top of the bottom layer. Place top layer on top and ice the entire cake with prepared icing. Using a vegetable peeler, shave large pieces of white chocolate all over the top of the cake (or garnish with chocolate curls).