I had also recently written about the episode that I saw when I was on an airplane, where Ina visits a classroom of special needs children and bakes with them. One of the things that she made really stood out. Partly because it looked super easy, but mostly because when I saw it I knew that it was right up my dad's alley. Old Fashioned Banana Cake. Daddy is a big fan of banana. And peanut butter. And no, he isn't Elvis.
Well, Auntie was right about this recipe being in the "easy" cookbook, because it was super simple to throw together and took no skill to present. It has one layer, so no need to have two cake pans. It isn't even frosted traditionally, and just has the cream cheese icing on the top of the cake...no sides involved!
Since I was dealing with a non-baking friendly kitchen I had to grab a disposable cake pan from Publix. My mom DID bake many moons ago, but I have a feeling most of her bakeware was quietly disposed of once my parents left New York for Florida. One thing about Auntie is that she loves her 9-inch pans. Unfortunately, if you're in a hurry and without a pan your only option is the 8-inch pans that they sell in the grocery store. This could be an issue if you aren't careful! More on that later...
While my parents do own a Kitchen Aid mixer, a staple of every one of Auntie's baking recipes, it lives in the garage. I am not really sure why they have it, or if they have ever used it, but there it is....on the shelf next to the pool noodles.
Great, I've got access to a mixer....right?
No. I don't. Apparently removing the mixer from its home in the garage is too much of a "potchka." For those who don't know what that means, it is a Yiddish word for something "that requires a lot of fussing." So the gleaming, white Kitchen Aid stayed put in the hot Florida garage, next to its friends the pool noodles. Fortunately there was an electric hand mixer in the kitchen cabinet, and I was able to use that. I haven't used one of those since I was a little kid! I remember watching my mother mixing some sort of batter and waiting (im)patiently to lick one or both of the beaters when she popped them off of the mixer. I guess no one was concerned about Salmonella back in the olden days.
The electric hand beater was perfectly serviceable, and the cake was mixed and in the pan in less than five minutes. Fortunately my parents had most of the ingredients in the house....Costco-sized. They must be hiding a pet monkey, because they had not one, but two huge bunches of banana. For people that rarely bake, they manage to have a giant Costco bottle of vanilla. For greasing those pans....no less than SIX cans of PAM in the cabinet. I wonder if that stuff can double as suntan lotion? Maybe I'l try that next time I visit...
To solve the problem of the 8 inch pan, I ended up filling it with only part of the batter so I did not overflow and spill into the oven. I would not be allowed in my parent's kitchen anymore if I did that. I already had one strike against me when I caught a pot of oil on fire in their old house. The rest of the batter went into a mini-loaf pan.
I washed the beaters and whipped up the frosting. Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Upon doing a taste test I have to say that I like the frosting that Auntie makes for the Coconut Cupcakes better. The only change is almond extract instead of vanilla, but it makes a significant difference in my opinion.
Fortunately things went off without a hitch, the house smelled fantastic, and the cake was a HUGE hit! So much so, that I had to make another one three days later for the next batch of company. Notice that while my parents may be lacking in culinary tools, they make up for in fabulous granite counters and gleaming white serving dishes.
A slice (of heaven)
You need to make this cake. Throw your box mixes out the window and whip one of these babies up!
Old Fashioned Banana Cake
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