The idea for a Banana Cake came from my recent visit to Hawai’i, where I ate bananabread with abandon while simultaneously plotting how I could recreate this joy in my own kitchen. We focused most of our loaf-eating while driving the Road to Hana. My favorite was from Hana Farms where the small loaf was sweet and springy and packed with flavor. I’m not embarrassed to admit that it’s sugary sweet-spicy topping was my reason for getting out of bed one morning.
For this month’s post, though, I decided to deal with reality – what we call “bread” is, of course, cake. And realist that I am, I figured I should try to recreate and actual cake – with frosting and everything! – to acknowledge exactly what we’re eating. I’m sure I’ll return to try again the mini-loaf like the one from Hana Farms, but in the meanwhile, let’s eat some cake!
The cake and frosting are quick to make and bake – just don’t make the mistake I did, and frost the cake while it was still a little warm (which is, like the #1 don’t do in baking – sometimes truly don’t know why I do the things I do… ). The chocolate hazelnut makes this cake an extra special treat. If your cake comes out with a dome on top, just cut off the top to make a flat surface to frost.
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
1 cup powdered sugar
1–2 Tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
for the cake:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch round baking pan, and set aside.
Using electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. One at a time, mix in eggs, then add in bananas until mix until just combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients. Add to banana mixture and stir until just combined.
Pour into prepared pan, and bake about 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and let cool completely before frosting
for the frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread and powdered sugar for two minutes.
Add the mix, and beat on medium speed for an additional minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, and adding more milk or powdered sugar as necessary.
Strudel and Streusel are two friends living in different cities, sharing a love of baking (and butter) through this blog. With Streusel in Denver, and Strudel in Seattle, we've found our little site to be a great way to stay in touch, share recipes we love, and talk about experiences in our respective cities.
