you're making mealtime meaningful.
Around here, it seems like we’ve always got a few bananas on the counter that are taking a turn for the worse, which is fine by us because it also means that there’s always an excuse to whip up some banana bread. We make it in loaves, we make it into mini muffins for the kids to grab before school, we’ve even made it into bars. And that basic banana bread is great; we’re not complaining. But… it’s nice to have options. It’s nice to do something a little different with those blackening bananas once in a while, and this cake is oh so nice.
It’s much lighter than banana bread, but still moist and imbued with baked banana flavor. It’s sweet, has a lovely tender crumb, and feels much more fitting for dessert than breakfast. (But if anyone wants a slice for breakfast, we won’t judge. You only live once, after all.)
The bananas in this cake are diced instead of mashed. This gives it a more cakey quality, studded with tiny delicate bites of banana, rather than a dense banana saturated bite. Popping the cake in the freezer after baking ensures that it stays ever so moist, but that step isn’t a requirement by any means.
Another non-requirement – but nevertheless something we would enthusiastically recommend – is topping this sweet cake with some silky cream cheese frosting. The creamy, tangy flavor is the perfect complement to this cake and it really takes it to the next level. You can find our favorite cream cheese frosting recipe here.
Frosting or no, it’s bananas how good this cake is. You’ve probably got some spotty bananas sitting around right now that you need to take care, don’t you? So give this a go.
Banana Cake
Yield(s): Serves 6-8
1 hour 30 minutes
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 2-3 very ripe bananas, diced
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the diced banana and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and mix on high until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter/sugar mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in diced bananas and pour into prepared cake pan.
- Place in oven and reduce heat to 300°F. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 50-70 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place in freezer for 30 minutes to make cake extra moist. Enjoy!
Adapted from Spend With Pennies.