Gingerbread Cake:1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 cube)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup molasses
1/2 tsp. salt
2-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup very hot water
Cream sugar and butter well. Add eggs and molasses. Beat well. Mix in dry ingredients. Add hot water and beat until smooth (batter will be very thin). Pour into a 9X13 pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 min.
Cool cake completely. Using parchment, lift cake out of pan. Peel back parchment and cut cake into one-inch cubes...I use an electric knife!
For Trifle:
Mix together:
2 small pkgs. cheesecake instant pudding or white chocolate instant pudding
1-1/2 cups milk
8 oz. whipped topping
8 oz. sour cream
Layer 1: Lay some cake cubes in bottom of trifle bowl
Layer 2: Whisk pudding, milk, whipped topping and sour cream together. Pour 1/3 mixture onto first layer of cake.
Layer 3: Treat 1 or 2 sliced bananas in some orange juice so they don't brown. Drain well and lay these over the pudding layer.
Repeat layers using more cake, topping mixture, and bananas 'til bowl looks good.
Stir some additional whipped topping into the last layer of pudding mixture. This will add a layer of fluff to the top of the dessert. Refrigerate for a few hours.
Right before serving, top with some fresh, sliced (un-treated) bananas.
