Banana Cream Cheesecake

I got this recipe from the fall edition of the Kraft Food and Family magazine. It sounded syummy and easy, which is my perfect combination so I decided to make it. My picture isn't the best because it didn't cut as well as I would have hoped. The cheesecake portion just tastes like cheesecake, and I'm disappointed that the banana flavor didn't come out more. I think next time I'm going to add some banana extract in the cheesecake portion to give it that extra flavor or I might just mix the bananas in with the cheesecake part instead of slicing them.

1 pkg. white cake mix, divided

4 eggs, divided

3 Tbsp. oil

2/3 c. packed brown sugar, divided

2 bananas, sliced

2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. whipped topping (I used Cool Whip)

Preheat oven to 300 F. Reserve one cup dry cake mix. Mix remaining cake mix with 1 egg, oil, and 1/3 c. sugar with mixer (mixture will be crumbly). Press into bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 13x9 baking pan. Top with sliced bananas.

Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar with mixer. Add reserved cake mix, remaining eggs and lemon juice. Beat 1 minute. Blend in milk (batte will be thin). Pour into crust.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. Top with whipped topping. Refrigerate leftovers.

**I also think this would be good as a basic cheesecake recipe. Just omit the bananas and serve with pie filling or a topping of your choice**