I had bananas that had gone far too ripe. I was sick of banana bread. So, I turned to trusty allrecipes.com to look for a banana cake recipe. I found one. It had a four and a half star rating (out of five) with 700 reviews. I thought surely it couldn't be that bad.
As it happened, just as the cake was coming out of the oven, I found out a friend of mine was coming through town. I told him I had banana cake and I was willing to share. We took some to him. Then, and only then, did we come home and try some of the cake ourselves.
Y'all? This was God balancing things out for allowing my family to suffer through The Fish Stick Po'Boy debacle of '11. Shawn and the kids are still mad at me for sharing. They unanimously decided that I should make another one. And, they made me vow to never share banana cake again.
So, the kids are home from school today. I thought we could make banana cake together, but then a thought struck me. We're going to Lubbock this weekend. We will stay with my parents. Wouldn't it be nice to arrive with a fresh cake in hand? Maybe I should wait a few days before I whip up this next batch.
I texted this idea to Shawn. The immediate response I got was, and I quote, "Are you high?!?!?!"
Really, y'all. This is good cake.
So, without further ado.
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
2 1/8 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake.
[I'm sharing this with those of you who are sweet enough to read this here little ol' blog day in and day out. Consider it my gift to you. To the rest of the world, I'm going to act like this is a secret family recipe - and make them beg for it!]
