We are having a heat wave, a reward for five consecutive days of below zero temperatures. With temperatures in the upper twenties on Sunday, I thought it was 'warm' enough to explore the beauty and wonder of the Morton Arboretum, a 1,700 rolling acre outdoor landscape museum. All of this outdoor enchantment is about a twenty minute drive from my house, yet I had never been to this arboretum before (if this was sin-worthy, it would be rank up there with the cardinal sins, maybe it would be the eighth one). Even on a gray winter day, the landscape was so compelling I ended up spending more than three hours exploring, taking photos, and listening to the silence of nature. As if this wasn't intoxicating enough, I discovered the arboretum offers an array of photography classes. For years now I have been wanting to learn how to use, how to really use my camera. And now my long overdue desire to enroll in photography classes is finally going to be satisfied. The first one begins later this week. I am so giddy with excitement I probably will not get any sleep the night before.
This is one seriously delicious cake. Yet, for some reason I thought the finishing touch should have a bit of whimsy to it. And what could be more whimsical on a banana cake than three marzipan monkeys?
The key to a great banana bread or banana cake is ripe bananas. Bananas so ripe they look as if they should be thrown out. Bananas so ripe their 'rotting' aroma can be detected the moment you walk into a room. What all this means is that you either have to wait days for bananas to get perfectly ripened or you have to find a grocery store selling overripe bananas in order to make this cake.
Have you ever struggled to understand what a large banana looks like?, a medium banana?, a small banana? It isn't like they have size tags on them, although maybe this is something the banana growers of the world should consider. When I come across recipes calling for 3 large bananas or 4 small bananas, I slightly hyperventilate as I have absolutely no idea what a large or small banana is supposed to look like, let alone how many cups they turn into when mashed. So before making this cake I decided to do some research, hoping there were some out there who converted the mysterious sizes of bananas into measurable mashes. The results of this search pretty much validated my belief that no one really knows what a large, medium or small banana should look like. But for better for worse, I decided the one large banana equating to a half cup of mashed bananas made the most sense. Fortunately this decision turned out to be one for the better (this was an incredibly moist cake). From this point forward whenever I see any recipe calling for 3 large bananas, I will immediately think it really means 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas. (Banana) Size will not matter and I will no longer become unnerved when I see recipes specifying the number and size of bananas.
The tenderness of this cake comes from the use of pastry flour. Yes, it is a little more expensive than all-purpose flour, but don't let that dissuade you from making this cake. Just make this cake for people in your life you really like.
You don't have to make this a three layer cake using 6 inch cake pans. Nope, you can make it a two layer cake using 8 inch cake pans or you can make it one layer in a 9"x12" inch cake pan. I just happen to have a new affinity for making six inch round three layer cakes.
Many years ago I took a baking class with Mindy Segal when she was the pastry chef at MK (one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago; she now has her own restaurant, Hot Chocolate). Of the many takeaways from this class was this white chocolate cream cheese frosting. There are no words to adequately describe this frosting. You just have to make and eat it. Then you will understand why I cannot seem to find the right adjectives. However, if no one comments on this frosting after tasting it, they are missing the 'taste' sense.
If you decide to frost the entire cake (more is better here), refrigerate the cake for 10-15 minutes after you put a very thin layer of frosting on the sides and top of the cake. This thin layer (sometimes called the crumb coat) will make it easier to spread the finishing frosting layer on the cake. Note: When I made this cake I didn't think I needed as much frosting as was in the original recipe, but I was wrong. If the amount of ingredients listed below seems like too much, please know that it isn't.)
If I could time travel back to my childhood, this would have been the cake I would have wanted. Not just for my birthday but for my half-birthday and my quarter-birthdays. I would have wanted it frosted in the white chocolate cream cheese frosting or frosted in a fluffy chocolate frosting only because sometimes you need to mix things up a bit. In other words, I don't think I would ever or could ever tire of this cake. Which is saying quite a bit, especially coming from someone with a bit of an (admitted) addiction to most things chocolate. If you are a big fan of banana bread you will fall in love with this cake. If you are not a big fan of banana bread or even bananas for that matter, this cake will convert you.
Banana Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (barely an adaptation to the cake recipe from Clementine Bakery and frosting recipe from pastry chef and restaurant owner Mindy Segal)
Ingredients
Cake
2 2/3 cups of pastry flour
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (coming from 3 large very ripe bananas or 4 medium very ripe bananas)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Icing
24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups confectionary sugar, sifted
4 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: Marzipan cut-outs
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three 6" cake pans with parchment paper, spraying well with cooking spray. Set aside. Other option: Line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper, spraying well with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt into medium size bowl. Mix in granulated sugar, stirring until well blended.
3. Place mashed bananas in bowl of a standing mixer. Add eggs in one at a time, mixing until each is well incorporated.
4. Add buttermilk, canola oil and vanilla. Mix until smooth and well blended.
5. Add in dry ingredients, Mix on low until they are fully incorporated. Divide batter equally amongst cake pans.
6. Bake 6" cake pans for 40-50 minutes or until cake springs bake when lightly pressed with your finger. Bake 8" cake pans 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before turning out on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
7. For icing, place cream cheese and butter in bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle blade. Mix until smooth and creamy. Blend in sifted confectionary sugar, salt and vanilla until fully incorporated and icing is smooth (about 2-3 minutes) Add melted white chocolate mixing until fully incorporated.
8. Place one of the layers on a cake plate or platter. Spoon or pipe icing on bottom layer. Place second layer on icing, spoon or pipe icing on second layer. Place top layer on. Put a thin layer of icing on sides and top of cake. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Finish icing the cake with the remainder of the icing.
9. Affix marzipan shapes on sides and/or top of cake (optional). If using sprinkles, add when final layer of icing has been applied.
10. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator (loosely covered) until ready to serve. Allow cake to sit out of the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving. Cake is equally delicious slightly chilled or at room temperature.
Photos taken at the Morton Arboretum on a gray wintery day in January.
