Recipes Around the Clock: Time for Dessert! Banana Cake with Brown Butter Icing

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I buy a lot of items in bulk at my local farmer’s market, and bananas are no exception. I freeze most of them for making smoothies and protein shakes, but at least five stay on the counter offering a week of marathon banana binge eating. More often than not we can’t eat them all and a few bananas are left behind to slowly turn brown, no longer the yellow beacons of cheap and nutritious snacking they once were.

This is where my search for banana recipes began! Being the sweet craving woman I am, I naturally fell upon a recipe that claimed to be ‘banana brownies’. I disagree with the title due to the bread-like texture, and I am perfectly content dubbing this pan of awesome as ‘Banana Cake with Brown Butter Icing’.

Here is how to create your own banana masterpiece for dessert (or brunch!):

Ingredients:

Banana Cake

  • 1-1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 c. sour cream
  • 1/2 c. butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 c. all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting

  • 1/2 c. butter
  • 4 c. powdered sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp. milk

Step-by-Step Detailed Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Begin with brown bananas. You can use less ripe bananas if you like, just make sure you mash them really well before adding them into your recipe.

Ripe and ready!
Ripe and ready!

Here’s the lineup for the rest of the cake portion of the recipe. I recently found organic, unbleached flour in my local grocery store (Walmart, woot woot!) and this was my first time trying it out. I used raw sugar (using white sugar is fine too!). The sour cream initially worried me but I’ve found it’s often used in baking and yields a moist, dense confection.

cake ingredients
Cake ingredients

Time to throw everything in the mixer and get this party started. Begin by putting the sugar and butter into the mixer and creaming them, which should take no more than a minute on medium speed.

Creamed butter & sugar.
Creamed butter and sugar

Add in your eggs, vanilla and sour cream and mix until creamy. To finish up your ‘wet’ ingredients, add the bananas in and mix to incorporate.  You should have a fairly liquid consistency.

Creamed butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream & vanilla extract.
Creamed butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract

I’m pretty old school and therefore a big fan of sifting dry ingredients, but I’ve also done this recipe ‘the quick way’ and just tossed all the dry ingredients in with no fanfare. Either way is fine, just note that sifting will always yield a fluffier and smoother confection. So, pick your method and add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. You may have to scrape the sides of your bowl a time or two, but don’t over mix as this will make your cake toughen.

Finished batter.
Finished batter

I NEVER seem to have baking soda on hand but a baking powder conversion works too at 1.5x the baking powder that is called for to compensate for the lack of baking soda. For example if the recipe calls for 1 tsp of baking soda, use 1.5 tsp of baking powder. I generally add an extra pinch of salt as well to help the baking powder out. If you do an internet search, you will see a 2x conversion (1tsp = 2 tsp) is recommended, but I can really taste the baking powder when using that much.

Once all your ingredients are combined, pour the batter into a greased pan of your choice and spread evenly.

Evenly spread and ready to get cooking!
Evenly spread and ready to get cooking!

Pop that pan of banana goodness into the oven and set your time for 20 minutes. My oven cooks fast and this was ready in 18 minutes.

Mandatory batter nomming.
Mandatory batter nomming

Once your timer goes off, insert a knife or toothpick into the center of the cake to test if it is done. If the knife or toothpick comes out clean (no damp crumbs or wet batter present) you are ready to take it out to cool and get started on your icing!

Clean knife!
Clean knife!

The icing is the best part, in my butter and sugar loving opinion, and it is also my favorite to prepare. For a long time I shied away from the brown butter food trend. I try to avoid butter on a daily basis, and I was concerned I wouldn’t prepare it correctly. I finally braved the technique and have been raving about it since. It’s simple, fast and oh. so. tasty!

Brown Butter Icing Ingredients
Brown Butter Icing Ingredients

Put your butter in to a medium size pot and crank the burner up to medium high to bring your butter to a boil.

Boiling butter- foaming is ok!
Boiling butter- foaming is ok!

Stay close! This is no time for chit chat, diaper changing or DVR! Once the butter boils, begin whisking it slowly, but constantly until it starts to brown then remove the pot from the heat.

Browned butter is so pretty!
Browned butter is so pretty!

Immediately add in three cups of powdered sugar and continue whisking. It will get stiff, so add milk and vanilla extract to loosen things up. Once it is combined and creamy, add a final cup of powdered sugar to finish up the icing. It should be more fluid than frosting, but not as thin as a glaze.

Finished icing.
Finished icing.

Pour that sweet, creamy goodness over the top of the banana cake (it can be cooled or warm) and spread evenly but quickly as this icing sets up pretty fast.

This icing forms a lovely crust almost immediately.
This icing forms a lovely crust almost immediately.

Cut the cake and plate it up while it’s still warm. The cake is good to that last crumb but there is nothing like that first, warm piece with a cold glass of milk. Mmmmmm.

Goodness gracious!
Goodness gracious!

Obviously, I enjoyed!

WHO ATE MY CAKE!! ;)
WHO ATE MY CAKE!! 😉

Textbook Directions:

I know sometimes you just need quick, by-the-book instructions on how to prepare something, so here they are:

Heat oven to 375F. Grease and flour 15×10-inch jelly roll pan. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute. Stir in walnuts. Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting). Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the cake (the frosting will be easier to spread while the cake is still warm).

Recipe found via Pinterest

Do you have a favorite dessert? Share your recipe in comments!

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Megan
Megan decided at a very young age having children wasn’t for her and she never knew what she wanted to be when she grew up, always feeling lost and empty. As a teenager a life altering experience changed her heart completely. Three pregnancies, two foster children and lots and lots of babysitting later, she figured out what she wanted to be – a mother and a wife! No matter the struggles and juggles, she wouldn’t have it any other way. As a self confessed introvert who struggles to be an extrovert at the expense of social awkwardness, Megan enjoys swimming, reading, cooking (sometimes), the elusive nap (all the time), really good cookies, hosting Mom’s Nights In (and out!), game nights, and the color black. (Notice there was no mention of laundry!) Megan isn’t much for talking about serious things but when she does, she is fierce advocate and tries to create awareness for Drug and Alcohol Addiction, Anxiety Health and the need for Foster Parents in her community. She is a twenty-something-ish mother of two girls, Jocelyn (born July 2005) and Lily (born April 2011). Originally from Upstate South Carolina, Megan moved to the Midlands in June 2010, and has been happily married to her husband David since May 2011.

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