Bananarama

At the Kennywood Amusement Park, when I was a whippersnapper loving the rollercoasters and fearing the Ferris Wheel, there was a lot of food of the sort that appeals primarily to the young and very hungry. Much of it was destined to cause alarming rumblings in tummies that went upside down, and spun all around. There were the usual corndogs, cotton candy, caramel corn mixed with peanuts, and iceballs topped with brilliantly colored chemicals. Among these goodies, some more dubious than others, was one treat that did not promise more than it delivered- chocolate covered frozen bananas.

A lot of the appeal was about the textures- the strangly transformed, exotic frozen banana, surprising against the thick coating of hardened chocolate. But the taste combination was very fine, too. I thought it could make a nice cake...I'm very fond of banana tea breads and so on, and who doesn't like chocolate icing? So I figured I'd try it for a simple, homey cake for my friend's birthday. He's allergic to almonds, and a disconcerting number of my favorite cake recipes rely on them.

The banana cake recipe is adapted from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book, and the frosting is just a plain chocolate buttercream, made with two melted Lindt's Excellence dark chocolate bars, a cup of butter, and 2 cups of confectioner's sugar, beaten into submission. At first I planned to slice the cake into layers, for a more traditional birthday cake look, but it was really moist, and it sunk a bit on top. I was afraid it would fall or crumble, or slide apart, and I'd have to start over. I hate starting over, though I will if something goes too wrong. But I really didn't want to start over today..I was out too late last night, and have been promising myself a nap. So I went with the single layer, coward that I am.

Silver dots? Well, I never could leave well enough alone. I tell myself that I prefer a cake which looks simple and handmade; whether this is because I'm not terribly good at traditional pastry bag type cake decoration, I'm not sure. Quite possibly. I do like to decorate cakes with flowers, colored sanding sugar, and old fashioned stuff like the silver balls, even though the finished product often has an elementary school look. We'll call it "rustic" and "hand-crafted", okay?

I'd say this was a pretty good cake and frosting combo. I think if you cooked it longer, you could probably split it into layers, without too much trouble, it's fairly firm. But really, I wouldn't bother with that. The cake is very moist, and doesn't seem to need a dividing layer of rich icing as a drier, spongier sort might. I'll make it again. And it's got me thinking about future birthday cakes with fruit based batters- maybe a pumpkin layer cake, with a cream cheese frosting?

And here's what you need for the banana cake. Don't forget to toast the walnuts, it's important. ******CAUTION: Don't try this recipe until I sort out the following problem: As kindly noted in the comments I haven't said when to add the oil. Worse yet, I don't remember adding it. I'm not at home and can't consult the cookbook. I have the awful feeling that I may have left it out. Hard to believe,since the cake was very moist. Buti f I did leave it out, well,I'd do it again,since it was so good. Bottomline-I've got to make this cake again to be sure.I'm going todo that-pretty soon,and willcorrect the recipe accordingly when I do. Sorry, so sorry, sorry as can be******

2cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
3 large ripe bananas, pureed or very well mashed-I used the food processor, as mine could have been riper
11 tbsps unsalted butter-room temp
6 tbsps oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350F, and grease and flour a 9" cake pan, preferably springform, and 3" tall or so. Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Mix bananas and sour cream, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter 30 seconds. Add the sugars and beat until light, about 3 minutes at medium high. Add the eggs, beating in one at a time. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula. Beat in vanilla. Add the banana mix and the dry ingrdients alternately, dividing each into 3 parts, beating on low until just blended. Stir in nuts by hand, using the rubber spatula. Scrape into pan, and smooth out. Bake about 40 minutes, or until the sides begin to pull away, and the top is set. Cool ten minutes in pan then remove carefully from the pan, and cool until room temperature. Frost with chocolate buttercream, made as described above, or using your own favorite kind. Decorating with weird little silver balls is entirely optional.

When I served this one up at the birthday dinner, I heard tell that chocolate covered bananas are still being sold in various places, including Trader Joe's. Browsing images in Google, I found most of the photos of chocolate covered bananas were, um, well amusing, but...So anyway, here's a look at Trader Joe's chocolate covered banana chips. (Although, on second thought, these have, in their own way, some unfortunate connotations.)

Comments

[Tanna]

I love the look of the silver balls, I might call it homemade elegant! It seems just perfect.

[Baking Soda]

It's silver balls day today! I just finished translating the recipe Queen of Coconut Cake in English today (dressed with silver balls), the boys have decorated the christmas tree (silver balls) and just read Farmgirls entry which mentioned silver balls as well, skipped to your blog and hey presto!
Oh yes, pumpkin layer or maybe carrot cake layer with mascarpone/orange frosting! Yippee!

[PatL]

Here's an idea for a different combo: I blogged a butternut squash cake with chocolate chips and vanilla buttercream frosting. Yum! Here's the URL in case it sounds at all interesting. http://upacreekwithoutapatl.blogspot.com/2006/11/butternut-squash-and-chocolate-chips.html

Love your silver balls! But then I'm a polkadot fan ... :o)

[Julie]

I have been eyeing that recipe ever since I purchased the book. Your cake actually looks very elegant with the dragees. And I love the word. It's worth using them just to be able to say dragees multiple times in a single day.

[lee]

I used to drive an ice cream truck and when I felt like I'd overdosed on shakes or hotfudge sundaes, I'd fall back on the chocolate covered bananas.
I think a pumkpin cake would be good with chocolate frosting too. After all, my favorite quick bread is pumpkin chocolate chip.
Also, have you ever made Italian Buttercream? It may seem like a pain but it is so much better than the confectioner's sugar kind that I am on a personal mission to get other bloggers to try it. If you need a recipe, the easiest I've found is Rose Levy Birnbaum's in the Cake Bible.

[lindy]

Glad to see the my favorite little silver balls so well received. "Dragees." You're right, Julie, it's a great word. I can't help thinking, though, of those who are being dragged. You know, by the by the draggers, or is it the dragg-ors?
lee-the chocolate lady makes a great looking chocolate pumpkin pie. Check it out at: www.inmolaraan.blogspot.com/2006/11/chocolate-pumpkin-pie.html
I have made Italian buttercream, and do agree it is better. It is, though, quite the pain in the ass. I don't even think about bothering with it when I am using good chocolate-because after all- chocolate and butter-it's like, you know, a fancy truffle. Close enough for folk music, as my late sweetie used to say.

[aleza]

i thought you would like to know that i dreamt i was eating this cake, though the dream-cake somewhat more elaborately frosted: the top was chocolate buttercream, but the sides were done in an intense dark chocolate ganache. in this dream, i and some friends were attending a conference on the uses of technology for activists, and the cake was being passed around as we watched a video presentation, along with some eggrolls containing tofu and mushrooms and cabbage.

oh the wonders of the subconscious (though mine is rarely all that sub- my dreams tend to bear a very close relationship to my life.)

[lindy]

aleza-Great dream.. I like the sound of those eggrolls. I wish more of my dreams involved food..eating without actual food is just as satisfying, and so much less fattening than the waking thing.

Although I do like dreams with striking visual imagery even more. My favorite example to date involves rowing away from a burning ship in a lifeboat, and watching the fire reflected in the water. It probably means something really fierce, but it was so beautiful you could cry.

[Kate]

I'm in the middle of making this cake and I can't find where or when to add the 6 TBSP oil mentioned in the ingredient list. I am assuming I can just add to the egg/butter/sugar mixture? I'll wing it, but I'm hoping you can update the post with that information. Thanks!

[redfox]

Kate- So sorry. My bad.I'm actually not sure what I did,and haven't got my cookbook to consult,as I'm visiting my daughter for Christmas.I added a warning note.I am planning on remaking it when I get home to figure things out, and correct the post.Can you let meknow how yours turned out? Many thanks for letting me know.

[redfox]

P.S.The above comment, and this one, are actually from lindy, and not from the redfox,who I am visiting,and whose computer I'm borrowing. I know,I'm a big dork,yes.

[Kate]

Hi Lindy,
I consulted several other cook books with banana cake recipes and they are all so different yet the same! I think I ended up adding the oil anyway. The cake was not setting well. Accepting defeat, I was about to pitch the cake, when my husband decided that there was no way he was letting any cake go to waste. He turned the heat down and let it cook for another 45 minutes or so. He even made the chocolate buttercream frosting and we ate it with vanilla ice cream for desert. Of course, the edges were dry from the prolonged oven-time but the flavor was wonderful and with vanilla ice cream, who could tell? I definitely want to get this cake 'right'!
Thanks for the follow up!