Banana

Banana Cake

Name: Banana Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: Serves a two layer cake
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups ripe mashed banana (3-4 depending on their size); 3 cups AP flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 eggs (separated); 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar; 1 1/4 cups sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla (I used Tahitian); 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 1/2 cup buttermilk; 8 ounces cream cheese - room temp; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter - room temp; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 1 cup powdered sugar; 2 tablespoons very floral honey (I used Yucatecan); 1 cup heavy cream; Sliced ripe banana - enough to cover a layer of cake

by: aargersi

February 25, 2014

1 Ratings

Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes
Serves a two layer cake

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

I got a little obsessed with the perfect banana cake - it started when our banana plants decided to give us several hands of bananas all at once, we were eating and drinking bananas in every possible configuration. Including cake. I wanted a lighter than usual cake (banana cakes tend to be very dense and moist in my experience) and a lighter than usual cream cheese icing, and I wanted to have hints of honey and vanilla. I searched the net, I baked a couple cakes, I asked the hotline ( http://food52.com/hotline... ) and then I just plain pestered Hardlikearmour a lot because she's awesome. I think I finally got it. ** the photo is actually an earlier iteration that was a bit denser - the one I got right was set upon and eaten before I could get a shot ** —aargersi

What You'll Need

Ingredients

The Banana Cake
2 cups ripe mashed banana (3-4 depending on their size)
3 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¹/₂ teaspoon salt
2 eggs (separated)
¹/₄ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 ¹/₄ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla (I used Tahitian)
¹/₄ cup vegetable oil
¹/₂ cup buttermilk

Cream and Cream Icing
8 ounces cream cheese - room temp
4 tablespoons unsalted butter - room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons very floral honey (I used Yucatecan)
1 cup heavy cream
Sliced ripe banana - enough to cover a layer of cake

Directions

The Banana Cake
Heat the oven to 350. Butter or spray two 9" cake tins, line with parchment rounds and butter or spray those too (I spray - it's so easy!)
Whisk all dry ingredients except sugar together. Use a large bowl - everything is going to end up in there.
In a second bowl, beat the egg yolks, oil and 1 C sugar together. Then beat in the banana.
In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and 1/4 cup sugar until soft peaks form.
Alternately mix the buttermilk and dry ingredients into the egg yolk and sugar, I did 2 rounds of each. Now fold in the egg whites.
Pour into the pans and bake until they are golden and a tester comes out clean - 30-35 minutes. Cool for a few minutes then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.

Cream and Cream Icing
Whip the cream until it has stiff peaks. Beat the cream cheese and butter together, then add the sugar, vanilla and honey - beat on low until the sugar is mixed in to avoid a sugar cloud, then beat on med-high until it is smooth and whipped. Fold in the whipped cream. Chill the icing for 15-20 minutes. Place a single layer of sliced banana on the bottom cake layer, then cover with icing. Put the second layer on an ice the cake!

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1 Review

Audrey June 25, 2019

Awesome cake. Baked it two nights ago, and am about to bake it once more for a friend. Just be careful not to overbake the cake or it will become dense and heavy. Beautiful icing.