
Cakes and Frostings
Banana Cake

Servings
9-12
Level
Easy
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 4 bananas)
- ⅓ to ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (1 stick) Challenge Unsalted Butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
Directions
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1Heat mashed bananas in microwave about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.* Put hot mashed bananas in a mesh strainer over a small bowl. Strain the pulp for about 15 minutes stirring frequently. There should be about a cup of strained pulp and ¾ cup liquid. Reserve the pulp. Pour the liquid into a small sauce pan, bring to a boil and reduce the volume by half. Pour concentrated liquid into a one-cup glass measuring cup and allow to cool.
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2Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Butter a 9-inch square pan.
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3Add buttermilk to banana liquid so liquid level measures ⅔ cup. Add vanilla and set aside.
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4Cream butter and sugar.
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5Blend eggs and banana pulp into butter/sugar mixture.
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6Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
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7Add dry ingredients, alternating with banana liquid/buttermilk mixture. Mix until well blended. Pour into prepared pan.
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8Sprinkle nuts evenly over top of batter. Bake 40 minutes or until cake tests done.
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!An alternative method is to put bananas in a freezer bag, mash them flat, freeze solid and then thaw. This will also release the liquid which can then be concentrated. You can take advantage of the 1 or 2 too-soft-to-eat bananas by freezing the ripe banana pulp until enough saved to make bread. Putting sliced bananas in a food storage sized zip-loc bag (remove air) makes them easier and less messy to mash.