When Life Hands you Bananas

We have all been faced with bananas that have gone past their prime. In that case, there are options. They can always be thrown out. Or, they can be frozen (whole, in their skins) until there is time to make something with them. Or, they can be made into banana bread, or banana cake right away. 

I was faced with this decision a couple of days ago, where the three remaining bananas on the counter were decidedly more brown that either of us felt was edible. I sat down to decide how I wanted to proceed with a recipe for banana cake. I was surprised to discover I had no banana cake recipe yet posted. I used to make the banana cake recipe from my very old copy of "Joy of Cooking." There was never anything wrong with that recipe, but I know I had another recipe from a cooking class somewhere that was far richer and also delicious. And then I am always thinking these days of how to add some fiber or other goodness into a recipe. 

Banana Cake with Broiled Topping

There are various considerations in making a banana cake. Two eggs or three? How much butter is needed? All white sugar or some brown sugar added? Sour milk, buttermilk, or another such as yogurt or sour cream? Spices or no spices? Nuts or no nuts? And then flour...which I really wanted to replace some of with Kamut flour.

Banana Cake with Broiled Topping

As usual, I read a whole lot of recipes to see what others did in their banana cakes. In general, I think it comes down to how rich does one want the cake to be. I considered going the route of using ground flax seed instead of eggs, but opted to stick with the eggs, three of them. I really saw no recipes that used sour cream, and I wondered why. I opted to use sour cream. I used some brown sugar, half the amount of flour as ground whole Kamut flour, and since that would be heavier, instead of all-purpose flour for the remainder, used cake flour to round it out and lighten a bit. If you choose to make this with only all-purpose flour, just use 3 cups. I added in nuts. Originally I was going to add walnuts, but when I looked into using a broiled topping without coconut (not easy to find, mind you), nuts were the featured ingredient. My husband doesn't like walnuts, but if they are ground finely in a cake or other recipe, and he can't see them or truly taste the individual nuts, it's okay. But, if I used walnuts in the cake, and then chopped walnuts on top, that would be unacceptable. So, I went with pecans, both in the cake and on top, because he likes pecans just fine.

Only in one case did I see someone use a little bit of cinnamon in their banana cake. Somehow, despite how much I truly love cinnamon, whether true cinnamon or cassia, I just could not enjoy that combination in my mind. Instead, I used nutmeg. Ultimately, though I grated a whole teaspoon of nutmeg into the cake, I could not taste it. This makes me wonder if it was of any use whatsoever to have used any spice at all? 

Once I got all my ducks in a row as to what I wanted to do with the cake, I then put thought to frosting. I just was not in the mood for frosting. Long ago, I recalled making a cake of some kind, and it called for a topping that was spread over the just-baked cake, then broiled. With no idea where I might have that recipe, I again went online. I found that everywhere I searched for a broiled topping, it contained copious quantities of coconut. Since coconut is another thing my husband does not like, I had to change my search parameters. Even then, most recipes contained coconut. I eventually found two recipes that were made with nuts instead of coconut (here and here). There was not a huge difference between them, but I opted for more nuts than one and less butter than either. It came out delicious. Use this Broiled Topping recipe on most any one layered cake.

Banana Cake with Broiled Topping

Banana Cake

Makes one 9 x 13-inch cake

3 very ripe bananas (about 1½ cups)
2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice 
10 tablespoons unsalted butter,
    at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature 
1½ cups whole grain Kamut flour
1½ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
    (or ½ teaspoon pre-ground nutmeg)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup chopped or ground nuts  
    (walnuts or pecans)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease or spray with cooking spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a bowl, smash the bananas with a fork and stir in the lime or lemon juice; set aside.

In another bowl, combine the flours with the salt, baking soda, nutmeg and baking powder; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until light, about 3 minutes. Add in the granulated sugar slowly, until well combined, then add the brown sugar and beat the mixture for at least 3 minutes more. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is well combined before adding the next. Add in a third of the flour mixture on low speed until combined. Add in the mashed banana mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat to combine. Fold in the nuts and the sour cream. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or at most with a couple of crumbs. 

Top the cake with your favorite frosting once cooled, or use this Broiled Topping recipe while the cake is just out of the oven:

Broiled Topping

Broiled Topping

Makes enough for one 9 x 13-inch cake

1 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
1½ cups chopped pecans or walnuts

In a saucepan, combine the first three ingredients and bring to boil, stirring. Add the nuts off the heat and spread evenly over a just-baked cake. Set the cake under a broiler about 3-inches from the heat source. Broil until bubbling all over, about 1 to 3 minutes or so. Watch closely. The topping remains soft until the cake has cooled, then the topping dries.




My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.