Peanut Butter Banana Choc Chip Sandwich Cake | City of Ghosts

"My stomach growls from missing lunch, so I duck past Mom's study into the kitchen and make a PB + B + CC, aka peanut butter, banana, and chocolate chips, aka the best sandwich in the world, no matter what Jacob says. (I think he's jealous he can't eat it.)"

–– City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

          Schwab's City of Ghosts is a wonderful, creepy read that takes place mostly in Edinburgh, Scotland and is full of mystery and history and ghosts (like, so many ghosts!). There are also a few instances of food such as meatball pizza (stay tuned!), fish and chips, tea and biscuits, and the sandwich mentioned above, which is something the author Victoria Schwab loves (or chocolate syrup instead of chips sometimes). Her typical breakfast is a banana with peanut butter, so it's fun to see that she incorporated her love of these foods into the story!

For more about the food in City of Ghosts check out this episode of Fiction Kitchen Podcast in which I talk all about the book!

Note: If you can't have peanut butter, feel free to substitute in another type of creamy nut or seed butter. If your substitution is not as smooth, try heating it in the microwave for a few seconds.
The method for making this cake is adapted from Cooking Tree.

PB + B + CC Sandwich Cake

---

Ingredients:
1 8oz. Container Cool Whip (~3 Cups)
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
2-3 Bananas
1/2 C Pineapple Juice or Orange Juice
6 Square Slices Fluffy White Bread
Chocolate Chips (mini or dark chocolate)

Directions:
Stir the cool whip & the peanut butter together until fully combined.

Peel one banana at a time & slice it on the diagonal into pieces about 1/2” thick.
Submerge the slices immediately in the pineapple or orange juice.

Line a tray with a large sheet of plastic wrap.
Cut the crust off of the bread slices & place 2 slices side-by-side on the tray. Spread these 2 pieces with peanut butter whip.
Lay 2 rows of banana slices down the center of the bread, lengthwise & sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Spread peanut butter on 2 more slices of bread & lay them, spread-side-down, onto the banana slices.
Spread peanut butter whip on top of those 2 slices & layer them with banana pieces & chocolate chips as before.
Spread the last 2 bread pieces with peanut butter whip & place them onto the bananas whip-side-down again. Do not put any spread on the top at this time.

Fold up the sides of the plastic wrap & wrap the cake snuggly.
Slide the tray into the fridge & chill for an hour, or into the freezer for at least 30 mins-1 hr.
Put the unused bananas & whip in the fridge until needed.

Keeping the cake wrapped in the plastic, use a long sharp knife to slice away ~1/4” of the sides.
Unwrap the cake & spread peanut butter whip on the top.

Scoop some whip into a plastic sandwich baggie & snip a dime-penny-size hole from one end (you can also use a piping bag with a star tip if you'd like).
Pipe a little mound of whip about 1/2” in from one end & prop a banana slice on it.
Lay a row of banana slices overlapping the first down the top of the cake.
Use the baggie to pipe little mounds of whip around the top edges of the cake, around the banana slices, & then place or sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Slice & serve immediately (it’ll get soggy after a while).

I received my copy of City of Ghosts from OwlCrate Jr. To learn more about OCJr, click here!