You know the song “Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson?
“But baby, you hardly even notice when I try to show you this song it’s meant to keep you from doing what your s’posed to wakin’ up too early maybe we could sleep in I’ll make you banana pancakes pretend like it’s the weekend now and we could pretend it all the time.”Because of that song, I associate banana baked goods with lazy weekend mornings, surfer guys and ukeleles. Which sounds very appealing in the dead of winter.
So, I went through my NGI recipes and found one for banana muffins. A little tweaking and de-healthifying, and out came this cake- it’s super simple and the perfect thing to cut into on a Sunday morning.
Banana Cake
Yields one 9″ cake
Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 large ripe banana, mashed
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white flour
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- banana slices, for decorating
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease a 9″ cake pan.
- Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the egg and mashed banana, beating well.
- Add the flour, salt and baking soda; mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
- In a small bowl, combine the milk, vinegar and vanilla, then mix into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and top with the decorative banana slices.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a test comes out clean and the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool before cutting!
This cake is light, sweet and fluffy, with a gentle banana flavor. It’s a basic recipe that could be jazzed up with a ton of mix-ins: nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc. You could also double it and throw on some cream cheese frosting for a springtime dessert!
Are there any songs that remind you of a certain image or time? Any songs you relate to a certain food?
