The towering stacks of unread and partially read books sitting on my nightstand are finally starting to dwindle down to less overwhelming piles. I wasn't much of a reader until my early twenties. Which may explain in part why I get as much enjoyment from reading a book as I do in holding it, tabbing the pages with passages I want to go back to, and keeping my place with a postcard bookmark. Yes, even in this digital age, I am a hardcover book holdout. I have tried downloading books before, however, the reading experience wasn't the same, at least it wasn't the same for me. The thought of lessening the weight in my carry-on travel bags hasn't been enough of an incentive to get me to abandon my affinity for hard cover books. Nor has waiting for a couple of days for a new book to arrive in the mail made my impatient self envious of those who get access to a book in a matter of minutes.
Considering how many of my books are long past their 'should have already been read by now' due date, I have unilaterally imposed a conditional, temporary new book purchase moratorium. Which means if I discover a new book, one have a compelling theme or story, or learn one of my favorite authors releases a new book before I finish the books I already own, I will lift the book buying ban. But if a book doesn't meet either of those two standards, it goes on my Amazon wish list. A list that seems to have a taken on a life of its own. Thankfully there isn't a quota on the number of book titles one can save. Or if there is, I haven't hit it yet.
Unlike books, bananas do have a shelf life. There was an excessive heat warning this past weekend, but when you have perfectly ripe bananas, turning on the oven on a brutally hot day isn't a deterrent. Throwing those ripe bananas away would have felt like I had committed a crime. There were three perfectly ripe bananas sitting in a bowl. Exactly the number I needed for this Spiced Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. Many of the recipes I post on the blog are slight adaptations to ones I have found, ones given to me by friends, or mash-ups of a multitude of recipes. Then there are some I can claim as my very own creations. Ones I can honestly say I have authored. It's a good day in the kitchen when the ingredients you put down on paper transform themselves into something so delicious, so close to (cake) perfection, you want to pinch yourself. I promise not to show you photographs of the bruises my body experienced in the making of this cake.
Cinnamon and cardamom, two of my favorite spice combinations, are one of things making this banana cake different than most others. I had tinkered with the idea of using only cinnamon, but my Swedish DNA wouldn't let me. Not this time anyway.
The assembly of this cake follows along somewhat traditional cake making guidelines, but with a few caveats. Beginning with beating the butter and sugars together. If you allow at least 5 minutes of whipping time for the butter and sugars you will be rewarded with a light, fluffy, creamy mixture. One perfect the eggs to be added in one at a time. Instead of sifting the dry ingredients, they only need to be whisked together. The whisked dry ingredients and the milk are added in alternately (for a total of five additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture). The mashed bananas are not folded in until the very end.
The result of, or I should say reward for following all of these steps will be a beautiful, thick cake batter. Based on the texture of the batter alone you know it's baked texture will be something to beholden.
Choosing the size and shape of the cake pan was a decision I didn't take lightly. I considered using a 9"x13" rectangular cake pan, a 10.5" springform pan, and a 10" traditional cake pan. All of these would work (with slight variations in baking times), but the 10" round one won out not for any good reason. Baking time for this sized pan was somewhere between 45 and 50 minutes in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven. The color on the top of the baked cake was spectacular.
With chocolate, peanut butter, mascarpone, buttercream, and cream cheese icings as possibilities for this spiced banana cake, there was yet another decision to be made. The cinnamon and cardamom actually helped to narrow it down from five to three. Had there not been any spice in this banana cake, there would have been five competing options. So why did I go with the cream cheese icing? Mostly because I do love its' flavor and texture, but partly because I had a healthy inventory of cream cheese in the refrigerator (the cream cheese someone thought would be put to best use in a cheesecake). But honestly, a mascarpone icing would be equally lovely on this spiced banana cake. So if you have a favorite recipe for it, go ahead and make it. Then, technically I suppose, you could claim this cake as one of your creations!
I got a little carried away decorating the cake. My initial vision was to ice the top, creating swirls with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula and topping with some fresh white flowers. And had my grocery store had some beautiful white peonies, I would have stayed with my first thought. But they didn't. So I went with Plan B: pastry bags and an assortment of pastry tubes. Depending on the 'look' you are going for when serving this cake, it can be finished simply or all gussied up. Ether way, this Spiced Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing will get everyone's attention when you bring it to the table. And if by chance it is sitting out with other cake options, everyone will be drawn to this one.
This Spiced Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing is everything a great cake should be. It's flavorful, moist, has the most incredible crumb, the perfect sweetness offset by subtle spice, and a great frosting to cake ratio. And lastly, there is something irresistibly nostalgic about it. In other words, if you are a big fan of bananas, this is THE banana cake you want to make. If there was a county or state fair nearby, I would be entering this cake in it. I would use the blue ribbon as a book mark.
I would tell you this cake shouldn't just be eaten for dessert, but it could also be eaten for breakfast. For those of you who subscribe to the thinking 'if a cake is made with fruit' it qualifies as a breakfast food, you and I are kindred spirits. Who knows, we may even have read some of the same books! As a side note, here are some of my recent favorites: "The Great Alone" (Kristin Hannah); "A Gentleman in Moscow" (Amor Towles); "A Woman in the Window" (A.J. Finn); "Little Fires Everywhere" (Celeste Ng); "Before We Were Yours" (Lisa Wingate): "The Female Persuasion" (Meg Wolitzer); "Let Your Mind Run" (Deena Kastor); and "No Barriers: A Blind Man's Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon" (Eric Weihenmayer).
Spiced Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
Cake
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup whole milk
3 very ripe bananas (13-14 ounces in weight with skins on), peeled and mashed
Icing
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 pounds confectionary sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
Generous pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Spray a 10 inch round cake pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper. Alternately prepare a 9 inch x 13 inch cake pan or 10.5" springform pan. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 5-6 minutes).
3. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Mix in vanilla.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom.
6. Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, for a total of five additions. Mix until well blended.
7. Mix in mashed bananas.
8. Pour cake batter into the prepared pan. Smooth top with an offset spatula.
9. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean. Note: Baking time for a cake make in a 9 inch x 13 inch rectangular pan will have a shorter baking time. Begin checking for doneness at 30 minutes.
10. Remove cake from oven and set pan on a cooling rack. Allow the cake to rest in the pan for 10 minutes.
11. Invent the cake onto a cake stand and/or platter. Allow the cake to cool completely to room temperature before icing.
Icing
1. In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
2. Beat in vanilla and kosher salt.
3. Initially on low speed beat in sifted confectionary sugar. Once the confectionary sugar is fully incorporated, increase speed to medium-high, beating icing until smooth and fluffy.
4. Spread a thin layer of icing over the top of the cooled cake. Using a pastry bag fitted with the pastry tips of your choice, pipe on remaining frosting. Alternately, spread icing evenly over the top and sides of cake, using an offset spatula or spoon to create a swirled effect on top of the cake.
Notes: (1) Instead of using both cinnamon and cardamom in this banana cake, can use only cinnamon. Increase cinnamon to one teaspoon. (2) Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator. Serve slightly chilled or remove from the refrigerator at least one hour before serving.
Little Compton, Rhode Island (June 2018)
