Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Icing

I had planned on doing my usual with this and taking pictures along the way, but… me being a crazy, stressed out, busy me over the last several days managed to forget that was the plan until the cake was baked, iced and served out onto plates.

I’ve only done this one a few times, but we all really love it. It is very similar to banana bread, but just a little lighter in texture and just a touch sweeter, because… cake.

Banana Cake

3/4 Cup Butter – Softened
1 1/8 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar – Packed
3 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 Cup Flour (I use a wheat/white blend)
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
2 tsp. Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Cups Mashed Ripe Bananas

Preheat over to 275°. Grease and flour 9 x 13 pan. Mix mashed bananas and lemon juice, set aside. In another bowl,  mix flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and beat until well mixed. Add vanilla. Slowly mix in flour blend and alternate with adding buttermilk. Stir in bananas. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean (I’ve found this usually takes more than an hour, so plan for extra time). Allow cake to cool until you can handle the pan, then cover and freeze at least one hour. Thaw before frosting.

 

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 Cup Butter – Softened
8oz. Cream Cheese – Softened
3 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Combine butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Slowly add in powdered sugar (about 1 cup at a time) and mix until smooth. Add vanilla, again beating until smooth and creamy. Spread on thawed cake and serve.

This is a super easy cake to make. It is more dense than a standard cake. Hubby says it reminds him of the density of carrot cake (not the flavor).  This would make some really amazing cupcakes as well. I would highly recommend doing a double batch of the icing if you are going that route as it always seems to take more icing to do cupcakes than it does to spread a nice layer over a cake, especially if you are using any kind of decorating tip to put the icing on the cupcakes.

Freezing this cake when it is still warm/hot (and most cakes for that matter) helps to keep this cake really moist. This is actually something you can make well ahead of time and keep in the freezer until you are ready. I haven’t kept this one in the freezer for longer than overnight, but most cakes can tolerate being in there for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer. I think I’ve only had one kind of cake actually get a bit drier from being in the freezer. This isn’t one of those cakes.

I adore the combination of the banana cake and the icing in this. I don’t find this to be overly sweet because of that combination. Even though I’ve only actually made this a few times, it is becoming a family favorite. Probably because it is so different from most of the other cakes I make, so it helps to break up the “standard cake” taste and feel in dessert.