Monday, July 23, 2012

Banana Cake With Vanilla Bean Frosting

I'm just gonna say it, I love cake! While I'm always in awe of the big fancy ones, I really like the little ones that can be whipped up and enjoyed on short notice. Don't need to heat up the big oven, just pop it into the counter top one, cool, frost, pour a cup of coffee and enjoy! This is one of those cakes.
What makes this one different than the other banana cake I posted? Sour cream, this is a very moist cake.
What's my absolute favorite thing about this recipe?
While both the cake and icing are plenty sweet, they're not overly sweet.
Ma stopped by for coffee on Saturday and the boys finished it on Sunday, we all loved this one!
Wanted to share a glimpse of my $2 flea market vintage yellow rose tablecloth too:@)

Banana Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting-adapted from The Farm Girl and ButterYum
Cake:
2/3 C sugar
2 Tblsp butter, room temp
1/2 C sour cream
3/4 C mashed banana (approx 2)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C A/P flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Frosting:
2 Tblsp butter, room temp
1 1/4 C powdered sugar
1/4 C heavy cream
*1/2 vanilla bean, just the seeds
pinch of salt-didn't use this
  1. Cream sugar and butter till fluffy. 
  2. Add sour cream, mix well. Add banana, mix well. Add egg and vanilla, mix well.
  3. Add the dry and mix till combined.
  4. Pour into greased 9x9 pan and bake at 375 for approx 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  5. Cool cake completely.
  6. Cream butter and powdered sugar for frosting
  7. Slowly add the cream and beat until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  8. Mix in vanilla bean and pinch of salt.
  9. Frost cake.
Notes:
  • *The frosting calls for a vanilla bean. While I'm sure the taste is amazing, I've never used one, they're a little too... extravagant for my wallet. So I poured 1/2 tsp good vanilla into a 1/4 cup measure then filled it the rest of the way with heavy cream. Worked fine! 
  • The butter and powdered sugar didn't cream for me when making the frosting, the butter did get mixed with the sugar though. Once I added the heavy cream everything came together nicely.
  • It calls for a 9x9 pan, I have an 8x8, that's what I used. 
  • A tip about storing bananas for baking later, I simply put the whole bananas in a plastic grocery bag and stick them in the freezer. The skin will turn black but the bananas are fine, and it only takes about 15-30 minutes for the bananas to thaw enough to mash. 
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