hootin N hollerin

BANANA CAKE
I've had a hankerin' for banana cake for a long time.

(Not banana bread - for some reason I think banana bread is very boring. And why is it always presented in such an ugly way?)

I want banana cake - that is bright and yellow (not brown!) and full of banana flavor, moist and rich and smothered with frosting.

Here is my version:
Banana Cake 4-18-09

This is NOT banana bread. It is yellow cake that tastes lemony and banana-y.

Grease and flour an 8" square pan.
Have ingredients at room temperature.

Mix until creamy:
1/3 cup honey butter
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
zest of one lemon (1 T)
scant one cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350°
Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon (2 T) into bowl, then mash with a fork, in bits, 2 ripe bananas. Be sure to remove any brown spots. You want to keep the bananas as yellow as possible. Add to the butter-sugar mixture.
Sift in 1 & 1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp baking powder (Rumsford, non-aluminum). Stir until mixed. Spread into the cake pan. Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack. Frost when completely cooled.

Frosting:
Mix until creamy : 1 T butter (soft) with 1/3 cup sour cream and tiny pinch of salt
(do this in the bowl you mashed up the bananas & lemon juice for a slight banana flavour)
Then beat in sifted powder sugar until of desired texture (it will take quite a bit, about 1 & 1/2 cups). wait until cake is completely cool before you frost it. OR, if you are impatient like me, cut the cake when it is still warm, and spread some frosting on each piece as you serve it warm.