Billy's Bakery Blitz: The fabled banana cake

On Sunday, I spent a while at Billy's Bakery (more on that to come...), and when I left I was the proud owner of a slice of banana cake. Now, as you know if you've been reading closely, I very much enjoy Billy's cupcakes, but their banana cake is a work of art. Well, consider me a collector.

After the pathetic non-dinner at Pierre Lodi, I was hungry enough to take on a full slice of this banana bohemoth. I brought home the cute little Billy's box and set to work.

Classic.

Inside the box sat my quarry, surrounded by tissue paper and giving off a faint sugary fragrance.

You can see the real banana in there

I decided to cut the slice in half, just in case I didn't end up wanting the whole thing at once. I transferred it to a plate, grabbed my knife and fork (which in the case of cake is actually appropriate), and settled in at the table.

This looks upside-down somehow

I took the first bite-- mostly cake-- and savored the true banana flavor. The cake is like a sweet, dense banana bread, studded with pockets of real banana. It's cakey and not overwhelmingly banana-y-- again, I don't usually like banana-flavored items, but man, do I love this cake.

Great frosting coverage

But the true star here is the cream cheese frosting. Billy's makes the best cream cheese frosting ever. It's smooth and sweet with just the lightest cream cheese tang. Quintessential, classic, and inimitable.

Check out the moisture there

I polished off this half-slice, saving the frosting for last. And then I ate the other half-slice. Oops?

Let's just say that I am writing this 24 hours later, and I'm still savoring the memory of this cake. It's that good.

Billy's Bakery
184 9th Avenue
212-647-9956