Banana Cake

"Mama, can we have banana cake for snacks tomorrow?"

asked my little boy.

"Ok, since the bananas are over-riped." I told him.

"Yeah, we are going to have banana cake tomorrow!"

... chatted the little one, over and over again!

Sometimes, when I have no idea what to bake, I will ask the boys what they would like to eat. So far, they have requested for chocolate cake/muffins/cookies, cheese cakes and doughnuts. The banana cake came as a surprise to me. I suppose the two over-riped bananas must have looked yucky to the little one, and to get rid of it, he requested for banana cake? He knows I dislike throwing away food, leftovers especially, and that I have been using over-riped bananas in bakes ... kids are observant, and we adults, sometimes, have to be on our best behavior too =)

Since I was at Little Corner of Mine searching for a soup recipe, I took the opportunity to search for a banana cake recipe as well. It was worth the search. The loaf of banana cake rose beautifully in the loaf pan. Although the amount of butter used was a little too much to my liking, I gave myself the excuse that I needed that little extra "fuel" to lift my rather low spirits .... eating and seeing the people around me enjoy my bakes definitely helps to lift my low spirits and bring on a smile.

7 tbsp Butter, softened

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Large Egg

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 Big Bananas, mashed (I use 2 medium bananas)

1/8 cup Whole Milk

1/4 tsp Vanilla Essence

• In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
• In another bowl, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
• Add egg, beat till smooth.
• Add milk, vanilla essence and mashed bananas. Mix well.
• Add the flour mixture.
• Beat till combined.
• Pour into a lined 9" x 4.5" loaf pan.
• Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes, or till a pick inserted comes out clean.
• Tent the cake with a piece of aluminium foil if the top browns before the cake is baked.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Invert and let cool on cooling rack.
• Store in an air-tight container.

The cake is really soft! It took a little longer than 30 minutes to bake, as I added two bananas instead of one. My bananas were not too sweet, so it was just the right amount of sweetness in this loaf. The crust was crispy, and the inside, soft. Hmmmm ... definitely a keeper, despite the high butter content.