Fanny Farmer Fresh Banana Cake

[hippywife]

This is the most awesome, delectable cake! I've made it several times now and we just love it. So do the DH's co-workers! It does come with an icing recipe but it's so delicious, I've never used it. Just sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top.

I don't have cake flour so I used AP flour mixed with about 3/4 c. of whole wheat pastry flour. I also added nutmeg to this and used my homemade yogurt in place of the sour cream. The nutmeg really is an essential addition, I think. Be warned tho, if you double this recipe it makes a 9x13 and a 9x9! I just send the extra to work with the DH.


1/4 Pound Butter
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Bananas -- mashed (about 3)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Cake flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch square
cake pan. Cream the butter, slowly add the sugar, and beat until
light. Add the bananas, eggs, and vanilla and beat well. Mix the
flour, baking soda, and salt, add to the first mixture, and blend.
Slowly add the sour cream and beat until well blended. Spread in the
pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out
clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack.

[bicentennial_baby]

1. Nice, it's in my 1979 edition!

:D

[hippywife]

2. I hope you'll try it.

It really is an excellent cake. I can't even imagine putting frosting on it. :hi:

[bicentennial_baby]

3. Oh, we will! What kind of cake pan did you use?

Loaf pan?

We love anything banana related, trust me :D

:hi:

[hippywife]

4. It makes a

9x9 square cake. I double the recipe to get one 9x13 and still get another 9x9 to share with husband's coworkers.

[Duer 157099]

5. I've got some bananas that need to be used up

So I'm thinking I might be making this tomorrow, thanks!

Is it like banana bread and will it hold up if I put nuts in it? I love walnuts with my banana breads, but maybe this one is too delicate?

[hippywife]

6. It's lighter than banana bread.

Not as dense. But I tell you what, I seriously considered a chopped pecan streusel when I baked this yesterday evening.

[eleny]

7. Does it call for fresh bananas?

As soon as a banana starts going dark and soft, I put them in a bag in the freezer for banana bread. Maybe it's jut me but it seems like they give my quick bread a more full bodied banana flavor.

I ask because these are a little darker than the fresh fruit. So I wonder if you ever used an "older" banana.

This recipe sounds dreamy and also kind of summery. I also like cakes with powdered sugar on them. I do like mom did and put some in her little sieve and tap it on. Cooking can be so much about nostalgia for me.

[hippywife]

8. I usually end up

making it with 3 fresh and 3 not so fresh (but not black yet) when I double the recipe. It was so delicious today. :9

[eleny]

9. Thanks!

The ones that come out of the freezer have a lot of syrup in them. But it's easy to drain that or maybe I could add a bit more flour.

[Dora]

10. Would it work in a bundt pan? Doubled, of course

I know some cake recipes are too dense to bake in a bundt pan. But I'm itching to try a pan that my grandma passed along to me recently. This looks like a straightforward, no hassle cake.

[hippywife]

11. It might.

It's not a very dense cake at all.

[pipoman]

12. I was cruising through

Sunday night and found this recipe. I had 3/4 of a short carton of very ripe bananas. Monday afternoon made this recipe x4, it made 4 9x13 cakes. They were great, the sour cream makes them very moist. I frosted them with a standard cream cheese frosting. I plated them and set them out at lunch today, many compliments...what a great way to get rid of over ripe bananas. Thanks HW

[hippywife]

13. Pips!

Good to see you and glad this helped! Ya workin' fool! LOL Hope you're still enjoying the job. :hi:

[pipoman]

15. Good to see y'all too.

I catch up on C&B when I have a chance just don't post much. And I am still enjoying, I will post a thread with some pics, maybe this weekend. :hi:

[Duer 157099]

14. Tried it

Loved it. My son said it's the best banana cake I've ever made.

But, I used AP flour instead of cake flour, so it probably wasn't as light as intended.

And, I didn't see how much nutmeg you used, so I just used about 1/4 tsp - and can barely taste it at all, but there is a hint of *something* different.

Yummy!

[hippywife]

16. I'm sorry, dot...

I used 2 tsp. with a double recipe. Glad you guys enjoyed it. It really is awesome! :hi:

[DrDan]

17. that is a great recipe

made it as suggested, but after removing it from the cake pan, and letting it sit for 5 minutes, I put a light cream-cheese frosting on it. The cake was hot, so the frosting melted, and since I put it on quite light, it set up quite stiff. Nice moist cake - with a thin crisp frosting. Turned out great.

[Duer 157099]

18. Mmmm, I made this again today, minor modification

After I started, I discovered I didn't have sour cream. But I had some heavy cream and some cream cheese, so I used those plus some lemon juice.

Still incredibly yummy, maybe even moreso this time - definitely more moist which I was worried about, but it worked fine.

Also, I used frozen bananas.

This recipe is a keeper for sure. Made the double recipe which filled the 9x13 and then had just enough for a medium sized loaf, which is now going to be a Mother's Day gift, along with some scones that I plan to make tomorrow (can't decide between mango/cranberry or apricot/cranberry - but going to use an Ina recipe I saw a few days ago)

:thumbsup:

[Arkansas Granny]

19. I make a banana cake very similar to this and I use a broiled topping

instead of icing. It is my daughter in law's favorite.

Broiled Topping.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons evaporated milk or half-and-half
1 cup flaked coconut
1/4 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add cream and mix well; stir in coconut and nuts, if desired. Spread mixture over the warm cake (right out of the oven works best for me). Broil about 4 inches from heat source for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown. *Watch carefully* as it can easily scorch. Cut and serve while cake is still warm.

[grasswire]

22. I love that topping

It used to be commonly associated with a white cake called "Happy Day Cake." It was my brother's favorite.

[Dora]

20. This one's a keeper, folks.

I doubled it, and made one bundt cake and one small loaf. I used 1 t vanilla, and 1 t orange flavoring. My bananas could have been riper, and they will be next time, but the cake still had a nice banana flavor and a light texture.

Thanks for sharing this recipe!

[Tesha]

21. to make the bananas riper tasting...

my tea-totaling grandmother was advised to "take a small glass of whiskey" every night to help her heart condition.


She also used a splash of it added to her mashed bananas. I think it adds quite a bit to the final product, and since you have the bottle open....

[mtnester]

23. Whiskey - the ultimate enhancer

on so many levels :)