Evening Edge
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Best Banana Cake
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In the Kitchen With ... Tina Bennett, Dunwoody
Buttermilk and lemon juice add a little tang to mellow bananas. This cake is very moist and flavorful.
The cook: Tina Bennett lives in Dunwoody with her husband, Mike. They cook together almost every evening. "I love to cook and try new recipes on my friends when they come over for dinner, " Bennett says. She works as a secretary at Kilpatrick Stockton in Atlanta.
The recipe: "This is a cake that all my friends ask that I make for any brunch or birthday celebration, " Bennett says. She thinks she probably inherited the recipe from one of her grandmothers.
The hook: Cake recipes don't usually instruct the baker to take the pan out of the oven and put it directly in the freezer, but this one does. Why? To make the cake moist. The AJC tested this theory -- letting half of the baked cake cool on a wire rack and the other half cool in the pan in the freezer -- and sure enough, the freezer-cooled half was moister. -- Deborah Geering, for the Journal-Constitution
Hands on time: 30 minutes Total time: 2 hours and 15 minutes Serves: 15
Ingredients:
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FOR THE CAKE:
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
15 servings
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk (optional)
Instructions:
FOR THE CAKE: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13 inch pan.
In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the banana mixture. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. When the cake is cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
FOR THE FROSTING: With an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. If the frosting is too stiff to spread, beat in milk. Spread on the cooled cake.
In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the banana mixture. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. When the cake is cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
FOR THE FROSTING: With an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. If the frosting is too stiff to spread, beat in milk. Spread on the cooled cake.
Notes:
Tip: Because this cake is served in its baking pan, it's easy to frost.
Use a large spoon to drop the frosting in two or three big dollops over the cake, then use an offset spatula to spread -- always pushing the frosting forward and never letting the spatula come in direct contact with the cake (to prevent pulling crumbs into the frosting). If you do get some crumbs in your frosting, don't panic --- it will still get eaten.
Use a large spoon to drop the frosting in two or three big dollops over the cake, then use an offset spatula to spread -- always pushing the frosting forward and never letting the spatula come in direct contact with the cake (to prevent pulling crumbs into the frosting). If you do get some crumbs in your frosting, don't panic --- it will still get eaten.
Nutrition:
Per serving (including frosting): 546 calories (percent of calories from fat, 36), 6 grams protein, 83 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 22 grams fat (13 grams saturated), 101 milligrams cholesterol, 123 milligrams sodium.
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