Nameday Banana Cake

Patricia! In the Swedish calendar, your nameday is on the 16th of April. Did you know that?

You know, in Sweden we like to celebrate, not only our birthday but our nameday too. It is an old tradition of attaching personal names to each day of the year in our calendar. The tradition originates from the Christian church calendar. Long ago it was an old tradition to name children after saints.

Karin is my first name, and the name is a Swedish short form of Katarina (Katherine), deriving from the Greek word "katharos". Old names have a meaning. This Greek word "katharos" means "clean and pure, free from corrupt desire and guilt free from every admixture of what is false".

The week between 19th - 24th of July is called "Fruntimmersveckan", (the Week of Women) because Sara, Margareta, Johanna, Magdalena, Emma and Kristina have name days. Ladies with these names are supposed to be celebrated with a coffee cake.

I have made a cake for Kristina. Today, on the 24th of July, it is her nameday. A really easy banana coffee cake recipe. A kid can make it with some help.










INGREDIENTS:
* 3 store-bought or homemade sponge cake layers
* 3 dl (300 ml) whipping cream
* 3 bananas
* juice of ½ lemon
* 2 dl (200 ml) vanilla custard, store-bought or homemade

GARNISH:
* bananas, sliced
* dark chocolate, grated

METHOD:
1. Mash the bananas with lemon juice.
2. Spread about 2/3 of the mashed bananas over one cake layer.
3. Cover with the second cake layer.
4. Mix the remaining banana mash with the vanilla custard.
5. Spread the mixture over the second cake layer.
6. Cover with the third cake layer.
7. Whip the cream.
8. Spread the cream all over the cake and garnish with sliced bananas and grated chocolate.

You must not think that we all have got a nameday in Sweden. There are lots of people with new and foreign names. They haven't got a nameday.

Mine is on the 2nd of August.