I’ve had plenty of banana bread in my day. But it always seems like more of a cold weather food. Go figure, a tropical fruit that makes a cold weather bread. Doesn’t make sense, but that’s how it is.
This cake, though, is lighter than any banana bread I’ve ever had. And with the brown sugar buttercream frosting, it’s an amazing summertime treat.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 egg yolks
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 crushed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites, beaten
Directions
Combine the sugar and butter and beat on low speed until completely combined.
Add the egg yolks and beat on high speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. This is the creaming method. (Follow that link so Jenni can tell you all about why the creaming method works for cakes.)
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients — flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt — and whisk thoroughly. You’ll want the baking soda to be well distributed throughout the flour before adding to the wet ingredients.
Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients (milk), beating each time until it is just incorporated. Start and end with dry. (If you really care why, Jenni explains all.)
When you’re done, you should have a nice, soft, fluffy batter.
Now mash the bananas and add them to the batter.
Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, but not so much you dry them out.
Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter, trying not to deflate them too much.
Pour the batter into three greased and floured round pans.
Bake at 350° for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
Pop the cakes out of the pans and let them cool to room temperature, then frost with the brown sugar buttercream frosting.
This frosting will stay soft and creamy at room temperature. If you want it to firm up, you’ll need to put the cake in the refrigerator.
And that’s it.
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51 Comments
Manda, it doesn’t have to be, but if you use the frosting I mention it will probably stay very soft. As for the cake itself, as with anything home-made it’s not going to have any preservatives in it, so don’t expect it to last as long as something store-bought would.
Gezelle, that’s true, but in this recipe the beaten egg whites also add volume. It can be the difference between cake and a typical banana bread consistency. Not that there’s anything wrong with banana bread, but cake is supposed to be lighter.