Banana Bars with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these for Ben's birthday.  He's not a big chocolate guy...not a big cake guy, for that matter.  But he does like banana, so I thought I'd try these banana bars instead of something more traditional.  They were a hit!  Ben had two pieces!  That's saying something.  The recipe makes quite a bit of frosting so you could try halving the recipe or just plan to spread frosting liberally on the bars!

Banana Bars with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Bars:

½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan or one 9X13 pan and an additional 8X8 pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form (it helps to use a chilled bowl and chilled beaters). Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Frost!