Banana Cake

Name: Banana Cake
Yield: makes enough for one 3-layer 8-inch cake, one 2-layer 9-inch cake, or about 3 dozen cupcakes
Ingredients: 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 2 cups sugar; 3 large eggs, at room temperature; 2 cups mashed bananas (roughly 2–3 large bananas); 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

December 22, 2011

This cake is a less dense version of banana bread, so it can be served in many ways. At Tribeca Treats we typically serve it with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing (page 150), but it also tastes great with Cream Cheese Icing (page 144), the “Sassy” Cinnamon variation on the Vanilla Icing (page 136), or even consider baking it in a loaf pan, cutting off a slice, and serving it alongside chocolate mousse or whipped cream and fresh berries. The key to this recipe is to use overripe bananas. Typically, the browner the peel, the sweeter the banana has become. Since bananas are usually on the greener side in the grocery store, plan on buying them several days in advance of when you’ll be making the cake. Keeping them in a closed paper bag at room temperature will speed the ripening process.

Recipe notes

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