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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Put your butter in to a medium size pot and crank the burner up to medium high to bring your butter to a boil.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Obviously, I enjoyed!
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!