Going Bananas on a Hot Summer Day

Ugh, I let my bunch of bananas get too ripe!   I'm sure it's happened to all of us. Today I decided to take a break from real cooking and make potato salad, throw some dogs on the grill and doctor up a can of baked beans.  But I still needed to do something with the bananas since I didn't want to waste them. I wanted to make something simple since I wasn't in the mood to make anything fancy. So I dug out Flo Braker's "Baking for All Occasions, A Treasury of Recipes for Everyday Celebrations". To be honest, I'm not sure I've ever used this book. I'm a cookbook junkie, or worst case, a cookbook hoarder!

There are 8 recipes with bananas as the main star, and I picked the easiest. This recipe is called Banana Streusel Snack Cake.

INGREDIENTS

Streusel
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 (packed) tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cake
2 cups unsifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup ripe mashed banana (2 large or 3 medium)
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg

INSTRUCTIONS
For the streusel: Using your fingertips, mix together the flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon until lumpy; set aside.

For the cake: Adjust rack in lower third of oven; preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3-inch bread pan (see Note).

Sift the dry ingredients onto a sheet of wax paper. Mash the bananas in a medium bowl, then add the milk and vanilla; blend well.

Using an electric mixer, preferably with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, beat in the egg until completely incorporated. Add the banana mixture (it will look curdled, that's OK). With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the streusel over the top.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean (not sticky) when inserted into the center of the cake.

Place the cake in its pan on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Then, gently tap the pan on the counter to see if the cake is releasing from the sides. Place another rack on top of the cake, invert, and carefully remove the pan. Place the other rack on the cake again and invert streusel-side up. Let cool completely before slicing.

Serves 12.

Note: The cake also may be baked in an 8 x 8 x 2-inch square baking pan for about 35 minutes. The cake also freezes well, wrap securely in plastic wrap, then over wrap in foil.


The batter is a beautiful vanilla color and very fluffy. Oh, and for those of you who like to lick the bowl...you're in for a treat....it's delicious!  The end result is a cake with a very subtle banana flavor.  It would make a nice breakfast coffee cake or just something good to snack on, like I'll do later this evening.