Monday, January 25, 2010

Banana Bundt Cake



I love making bundt cakes because they are no-fuss and still delicious. They are my go-to dessert when I don't have a lot of time on my hands, and it is fun because there are so many different varieties and flavors to try! I had never made a banana cake before, but Dorie Greenspan recipes rarely disappoint! It was so easy to make, and I loved the strong banana flavor it had. I did make a couple changes- added some toasted pecans and a cinnamon cream cheese drizzle. The cream cheese drizzle is not necessary, but I do think it is better with it. The original recipe for the cake can be found here. Below is the recipe as I made it.


For Cake:

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (I used nonfat plain yogurt)
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray with flour.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
3. Working with a stand mixer or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don’t be disturbed when the batter curdles), all the sour cream/yogurt and then the rest of the flour mixture. Stir in pecans.
4. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to debubble the batter and smooth the top.
5. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature.


For Cream Cheese Drizzle:
Ingredients
2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 tsp of cinnamon 
Directions
Using a mixer, mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and milk. Add a dash of cinnamon. Mix until smooth and drizzle onto cake.

3 comments:

  1. You are quite the chef!! That looks amazing... I may have to try to adapt it to be gluten-free. :) It was great seeing you guys at Lauren's wedding. Hope you have a wonderful week!

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  2. this looks delicious! Anyway to replace all the butter with another ingredient to make it a little 'healthier'? I love all the bananas!!

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  3. Thanks, Whit! It was great to see you too!

    Lisa- I haven't tried it with this recipe, but I think you could replace one of the sticks of butter with 1 cup of applesauce and still have delicious results! Let me know if you try it!

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