26 October 2008

20 Pounds of Bananas

My brother works as a manager at a nearby grocery store. This isn't a great lead-in, but there's no other way to explain how I came upon a 20-pound box of almost-ripe bananas for only a dollar (plus tax).

Do you know how many bananas are in a 20-pound box? I'm only asking because I didn't really realize how many that entailed. I didn't actually count them, but...I think it's a little more than 100 bananas.

Now, I like bananas; don't get me wrong. But I'm a busy lady and between school and work and a little bit of sleep, I can only use so many at a time for banana bread. And after about a week, 100 bananas on the counter of your laundry room start to smell quite strongly and to attract flies of the fruit variety.

In a last-ditch effort to waste...I mean, use the bananas as quickly as possible, I looked for a recipe for a banana cake, and my queries were answered by none other than Paula Deen, the southern belle herself.

Notice the sliding layers


I was disappointed, and I'm sorry because I always seem to be disappointed on here. Maybe it's because I'd been huffing too many bananas, but it just tasted like...banana bread with sugary cream cheese. Everyone else freaking loved it.

Also, in case you were wondering, I could not get any good pictures of the cake.

Plus, that weird black shadow


Banana Nut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes one two-layer cake

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Butter and flour 3 (9-inch) round cake pans; set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the eggs and oil and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened; do not beat. Stir in the banana, pecans, and vanilla.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 23 to 28 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake layers in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely. While the cake cools, make the frosting.

In a bowl, blend together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the pecans, or reserve them to sprinkle over the frosted cake. Fill and frost the cake when it is completely cool.

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