Yesterday I had a few ripe bananas but wasn't in the mood for banana bread, so I went looking for a banana cake recipe. Happily, I found the recipe below which uses fresh bananas and crushed pineapple. Yum for the tropical taste!
I chose to bake my cake in a bundt pan, but you could easily use a typical 13 x 9-inch cake pan instead and simply reduce the baking time (I'd start checking at 45-50 minutes or sooner if my nose told me to).
I had an extra package of cream cheese, so I chose to top the cake with cream cheese frosting (recipe included below). A sprinkle of powdered sugar or a glaze (I'm thinking rum glaze) would work well with this cake, too.
The original recipe was in our local Friends of the Library community cookbook. Here's my version:
Banana-Pineapple Bundt Cake
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cooking oil
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice (or measure out 1 cup from a larger can)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
2 cups diced bananas (3 medium bananas)
Frosting or glaze of your choice, as desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan (or 13 x 9 cake pan if you prefer). Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Gently stir the remaining ingredients (except for frosting/glaze) into the dry ingredients (do not beat). Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 60 to 80 minutes (or less for a rectangular pan), until cake tests done with a toothpick. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
When cake is completely cool, top with frosting or glaze as desired. Store the cake in the refrigerator, covered.
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe (as shown in the picture)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
dash of salt
approx. 2 tablespoons cream or milk, added as needed
2 teaspoons vanilla
Cream the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time. Beat well until desired consistency (add a bit of the cream or milk as needed). Beat in the salt and vanilla. Spread on a cooled cake.
If you're really into the tropical taste, add some coconut to the recipe. Chopped nuts would be good, too.
Do you like banana-pineapple cake? Would you choose frosting or a glaze? Let me know how you'd serve this easy, delicious dessert.