Classic Banana Bundt Cake is this week’s recipe. I highly recommend it.
This cake was delicious. Although it’s not a spectacular cake, it is a solid, easy-to-make cake, something everyone should have in their repertoire. Bringing this dessert to a party or giving it as a gift or a welcome to the neighborhood gesture is a great idea. You can feed an army with it as well!
While visiting my family in New York over the weekend, I made this cake with my sister. My baking finally had a home! After a delicious dinner of burgers on the grill and homemade rolls on Saturday night, this cake was enjoyed. The husband made his famous hamburgers, as well as the Triple S burger that my father had just seen in the newspaper. The burger consisted of short ribs, sirloin, and skirt steak that was freshly ground. Was it really necessary to tell you how delicious it was?
Anyway, let’s get back to the cake. I was pleasantly surprised by how moist and delicious my cake was and how the banana flavor was not overpowering. The whole family enjoyed it. The cake would be fantastic with a handful of chocolate chips, and I am sure that some of my fellow bakers did just that.
Even though I covered it after a half-hour, it still got a bit browner than I would have liked. Although it was ugly, it was covered up quite nicely with a lemon-vanilla glaze.
For a lighter version of this recipe, I substituted one stick of butter for 1/4 cup of canola oil, and I used fat-free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Perhaps it would have been even better if I had made it as written, but in any case, this cake was so delicious that I didn’t need all that extra fat. No thanks.
It went well with a cup of coffee and the company of my mom and sister. 🙂
After I cut the first piece, there may have been a well of glaze in the middle of the cake, and we may have spooned generous amounts of glaze over the rest of the cake. It may have happened.
Bundt Cake with Bananas
All-purpose flour, 3 cups
Baking soda, two teaspoons
Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
Unsalted butter, at room temperature, one stick (4 ounces)
Canola oil, 1/4 cup
Sugar, 2 cups
Pure vanilla extract, two teaspoons
Two large eggs, preferably at room temperature
Mash 4 very ripe bananas (you should have 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups)
Nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 cup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray with cooking spray a Bundt pan measuring 9- to 10-inches in diameter (12 cups). Do not place the Bundt pan on a baking sheet – you want the heat to circulate through the inner tube.
Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Beat the butter until creamy with a stand mixer and a paddle attachment, or by hand in a large bowl, adding the canola oil and mixing until combined. The mixture may look weird and curdle, but it is okay. Beat the sugar into the mix until it becomes pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating each for about one minute after it is added. Mix in the bananas at low speed. Combine half of the dry ingredients, all of the yogurt, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Don’t disturb the batter if it curdles. Put the batter in the pan and smooth the top by rapping the pan on the counter.
Cook for 65 to 75 minutes, or until the cake comes out clean when a knife is inserted deep into its center. After about 30 minutes, check on the cake and cover it loosely with a foil tent if browning too rapidly. After 10 minutes, transfer the cake to a rack and let it cool until room temperature.
Before serving, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and let it sit on the counter overnight, and it tastes better the next day.
An optional white icing can be applied:
Fill a bowl with 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar and squeeze in enough fresh lemon juice (start with two teaspoons and add more by drops) to make an icing thin enough to drizzle down the Bundt’s curves. Vanilla extract can also be added if desired.