Best and Easiest Banana Cake

Name: Best and Easiest Banana Cake
Yield: One 13 x 9 x 1½-inch cake, about twenty-four 2-inch squares
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon baking soda; 2½ cups cake flour or unbleached all-purpose flour; 2½ cups cake flour or unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 cup mashed, not pureed, bananas (2 large bananas, 6 to 7 ounces each); ½ cup granulated sugar; 3 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1 tablespoon dark rum; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1 tablespoon dark rum; 1 cup mashed, not pureed, bananas (2 large bananas, 6 to 7 ounces each); ¾ cup milk or buttermilk; ¾ cup milk or buttermilk; 1 cup heavy cream; ½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed; 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

Preparation info

One
13 x 9 x 1½ inch cake squares

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

How to Bake

By Nick Malgieri

Published 1995

About

To achieve a vivid banana flavor the secret is to mash, not puree, the bananas.

Ingredients

Cake

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup

Americas
United States
Vegetarian
Cake

Method

Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
For the cake batter, in a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until it’s soft and light. Use a hand mixer set at medium speed or a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle, if you ha