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Every day, we feature a hand-picked recipe for you to discover, cook, and share. The best part?
Every recipe you read helps feed the hungry.
Of this I am guilty: Every time I have some over-ripe bananas on the counter, I make the same banana bread, again and again, and again. Why mess with success, right? But when I saw this recipe, it convinced me that maybe it was time for a change. Because who can argue with tucking those bananas into a 9×13 cake that’s big enough to share with all your friends and topping it off with a sweet coffee-kissed buttercream frosting? I certainly can’t.
You’re going to start by creaming together your butter and white and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy…
…and then you’ll add your eggs one at a time and the vanilla.
Then, you want to alternate your dry ingredients with your mashed bananas (you’ll need about three) and Greek yogurt until it all comes together.
The batter heads into a baking pan and unlike denser banana bread, it only takes about thirty-five minutes in the oven.
So you get to top it with frosting and dig in much sooner than you would with a regular loaf of banana bread. Now let’s talk about that frosting:
When I first saw coffee-flavored frosting paired with banana, I was a little trepidatious. But there was no need for that fear! First of all, this is barely coffee-flavored so it’s not going to smack you over the head with flavor. It’s more like the frosting has a subtle hint of coffee’s bitter, aromatic nature and those qualities turn out to be the perfect contrast to the sweet banana cake it tops.
It’s a great combination and a great cake, and perfect for parties and potlucks and bake sales galore.
Potluck Banana Cake
Diet: Vegetarian
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 medium)
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
- 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt and add the mixture to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the bananas and Greek yogurt, mixing well after each addition.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- While cake cools, make the frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until combined.
- Dissolve the instant coffee in milk, then add to the butter mixture and beat on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Spread frosting over cooled cake. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.