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Thursday, September 4, 2008

Going Bananas: Recipe


I am often reminded when I have some fruit sitting just a bit too long in a basket on the kitchen table. Come on...it happens to you, too. Right? Me? I walk past and catch a whiff of an uncut melon needing to be split open and seeded, or see an avocado beginning to pucker, or both see and smell a banana starting to turn. So as I stared at about six almost overripe bananas, I knew what must be done.

I doctored an old recipe I found from a cooking class I took about 8 years ago. Small edits made this cake fill my house with that amazing smell of cinnamon, brown sugar and, yes...bananas! I worried the smell might wake the kids, it was so good.

I did add a little glaze to the top of this but truthfully, it's not necessary. I just felt I needed some additional color for the photo.

Cinnamon-Banana Cake
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large bananas, mashed well + 2 medium bananas, sliced
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping
2 Tablespoons
2 Tablespoons
1 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp. warm water
1 Tbsp. Jamaican rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of a spring form pan and line with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until light - about 3 minutes, scraping the sides once. Add the sugar and beat on medium-high for about 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides often. Next add in the eggs, once at a time, beating between each addition. Add in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Add then the buttermilk. Mix well. Next add the banana and mix again. And finally add in the second half of the flour mixture.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and place slices of bananas on top in concentric circles.

In a small bowl, mix together "topping" and sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes on a cooling rack and then release the spring form. Using a clean plate, flip the cake, remove the parchment paper and the bottom of the spring form pan. Flip right-side-up onto the cooling rack and cool another 30 minutes before using glaze.

In a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar, water, and rum and stir well until smooth but liquidy. Spoon into a plastic pastry bag, snip a tiny cut in the bottom of the bag and pipe horizontal lines every 2 inches. Cross with piped diagonal lines.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the toppings, the ingredients didn't show up

Anonymous said...

Please let us know what is the topping.....I can't wait to make this