This scrumptious Banana Bundt Cake comes from Dorie Greenspan, a well known cookbook author, cook and baker extradorinaire.
Her newest book, Everyday Dorie, comes out today.
I haven’t seen it yet, but Dorie describes it as filled with over 125 simple recipes which you can make with supermarket ingredients you’ve got in your pantry and fridge, and pots and pans you’ve got in your cupboards.
This week I received an email announcing the release of her new book.
In it Dorie says she is preparing to leave the next morning to begin her book tour, but first she has decided to bake this bundt cake using the Last-Of-The-Bunch Bananas!
We’ve all been there, or at least I have, many many times!
Is it because we are really so thrifty we hate to see those few bananas go to waste, or is it because it gives us a reasonable excuse to bake that cake?
Or make that soup we’ve been wanting to try because those veggies in the fridge are past their prime, you know.
For those of us who have a passion to cook and bake we will always find a reason.
I am so glad I had those four bananas in my freezer because… number 1, this is a wonderful cake, number 2, I’m always looking for a good bundt cake recipe, and number 3, as it turns out, our bocce group was having a potluck picnic today so I could take it with me, and share it with my neighbors.
I’ld say that’s more than enough reasons, wouldn’t you?
Here’s the recipe… and do check out Dories’ new book, (I know I will )
Last-Of-The-Bunch Banana Cake ( adapted from Everyday Dorie, Dorie Greenspan)
For the cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
½ cup coconut oil, at room temperature, or another stick butter ( I used all butter)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt (I used Kosher salt)
2 large eggs, at room temperature (only had extra large, but not a problem)
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional) (I used it, yum)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 to 4 ripe bananas, mashed to a puree (about 1 and ¾ cups)
1 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular) (I subbed sour cream, no yogurt in the fridge)
3 ounces chocolate (milk, semisweet,or bittersweet), finely chopped
½ cup sweetened flake coconut
For the icing (If you like a more generous coating of icing, increase the amount of confectioners’ sugar and add as much additional milk as needed to get the right texture).
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar 1 to 1 and ½ tablespoons milk
Sweetened flake coconut, toasted, for sprinkling (optional)
To make the cake
Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F.
Generously butter a Bundt pan, dust with flour and tap out the excess (or coat with baker’s spray). Do this even if your pan is nonstick.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and nutmeg.
Working in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, coconut oil, if you’re using, both sugars and the salt together at medium speed for 3 minutes, or until well blended, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in, then beat in the rum, if using, and the vanilla extract.
With the mixer on low, beat in the mashed bananas: don’t worry about how curdled the batter looks.
Still working on low, add half the flour mixture.
When it’s almost incorporated, beat in all of the yogurt (in my case, sour cream),
and when that is almost in, add the rest of the flour and mix until blended.
Switch to a flexible spatula, scrape down the bowl and mix in the chocolate and coconut.
Spoon the batter into the pan, smoothing the top and swiveling the pan from side to side to even the batter and get it into all of the pan’s curves.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until the top is brown and the sides of the cake pull away from the pan when gently nudged; a skewer inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean.
Transfer the cake to a rack and let it rest for about 5 minutes, then unmold it onto the rack.
Let cool to room temperature. If you have patience, wrap the cake once it cools and let it “ripen”overnight.
To ice the cake (optional)
Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon milk.
Add more milk if necessary, a drop at a time, stirring until you have an icing that falls easily from the tip of the spoon.
Drizzle the icing over the cake and sprinkle over some toasted coconut, if desired.
Let the cake sit for at least 20 minutes, or until the icing is set, before you serve or store the cake.
Storing: Covered, the cake will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature. Without the icing, it can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.
