I always have such good intentions when I buy bananas at the grocery store, and convince myself to get a nice, big bunch so I can eat one everyday for breakfast. That would be a nice, healthy way to start the day right?
And then I wake up the next morning and remember that a banana for breakfast sounds healthy and boring, and that I’d rather have toast or cereal or something else with plenty of starch. And so the bananas live to ripen for yet another day, without being eaten.
But alas, hideously brown (bordering-on-fruit-fly-city) bananas now have a purpose in my life! And no, it’s not just your average banana bread. It’s this lovely little tea cake that’s much more delicious, and not even terribly unhealthy! Sour cream in lieu of the normal amount of butter, and of course the bananas make up for a lot of the sugar as well.
Oh but then you add the delicious, vanilla bean, butter cream icing which cancels out both of those things…
Cake Ingredients
2/3 cup white sugar- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 2 mashed, super ripe bananas (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
Frosting Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Paste from 1 vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups icing sugar
Method
Start by preheating your oven to 375˚F. I used a hand mixer, but you can easily just use a wooden spoon for this recipe, which I always find refreshing.
It’s the worst when you’re reading through an intriguing recipe, and think you might just have all the ingredients in your fridge, and you’re ready to jump out of your chair and start cooking, and then you realize that it calls for a fancy food processor. (Can you tell I don’t have one? One day!)
Get out a big bowl and mix your sugar, sour cream, egg, and 2 tablespoons of softened butter together.
Make sure your ripe bananas are well mashed and sloppy. (Trust me, the sloppier and the browner = the sweeter and the better.) Mix in your banana slop and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add your flour, salt and baking soda and mix together.
Grease a small square or circular pan (about 8″ x 8″) and pour in your cake mix. Ensure you’ve licked all spatulas and mixers thoroughly.
Bake at 375˚F for about 30 – 35 minutes, until you can poke the centre with a toothpick and it comes out clean.
While your cake is baking and filling your kitchen with lovely sweet smells, mix together your icing ingredients until smooth.
You can use vanilla extract, but I think using vanilla bean paste makes a nice difference. Plus I’m a total sucker for the little black specks. It just adds that something special.
So if you’re going for the real deal, just slice your bean in half lengthwise, but not all way through, and scrape out every last bit of paste with the back of a knife, and mix it into your icing until it’s fully incorporated.
Let your cake cool completely before icing it, otherwise your frosting will just melt everywhere. I know, it’s torture, but just be patient.
(And enjoy a couple fingerfuls of icing while you wait, obviously.)
Once cooled, ice your cake and admire it’s beauty. So simple and so lovely.
Now cut yourself a nice big piece and enjoy!
(And then have another one.)
Literally my favorite!