Editor's Note: A homestyle banana cake is lovely, and it's even lovelier when draped in chocolate icing. Karen of Griffin, Ga., submitted this recipe, and we enjoyed the story she shared — and were impressed by her perseverance in perfecting an heirloom recipe that came to her without any measurements!
Here's Karen's account of how she first came to make the in-demand cake:
"I was going to make my best friend's daughter's wedding cakes. For the groom's cake, the bride and her fiancé wanted a banana cake with chocolate icing. I didn't have a recipe, but my friend said she had her grandmother's and that it was delicious. I decided to make it. Well, the recipe had a list of ingredients and nothing else — no amounts for the ingredients, or no directions for mixing and baking. I taught school at the time, so I decided I would guess on the amounts, make the cake, and take it to school. I did this several times, until the teachers told me I had made the correct guesses and the cake was perfect. It was a big hit at the wedding, and I have made several more groom's cakes since. And it's always a hit at church luncheons."
 Karen and her grandchildren |
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients for the cake:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, plus more for pan
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons buttermilk
2 cups flour, sifted, plus more for pan
1 cup diced bananas
Ingredients for the icing:
3/4 cup butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1 box (1 pound) 4X or 10X confectioners' sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Mix sugar and butter together until smooth.
3. Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and buttermilk; mix well.
3. Mix in the flour, then add the bananas. Mix thoroughly, then pour into buttered and floured Bundt pan.
4. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
5. Remove cake from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
6. For the icing: Beat butter and cocoa together using an electric mixer on high speed. Reduce speed and beat in confectioners' sugar. Smooth icing over cooled cake.
Serves 16
See the other finalists from the Delicious Desserts Recipe Contest:
• WINNER: Ribbon Cookies
• Lemon Curd Cake
• Lemonilla Ice Cream
• Pistachio Cake
Visit our Recipes section for more cooking and baking ideas, including a recipe for peanut butter ice cream pudding, and sign up to get our FREE food newsletter delivered to you twice a month.
Home
