I had buttermilk I needed to use. I had over-ripe bananas. (I ALWAYS have over-ripe bananas.) And, after a stressful couple of weeks, I needed cake.
So, this Bon Appetit recipe for Buttermilk Banana Cake called my name and it is (was) excellent. The sweet banana flavor is particularly strong in this cake. You can find the original recipe online here.
On the other hand, if you just want to play with your food here is an idea. Who doesn’t love a pair of sweet dolphins?
Here is the Buttermilk Banana Cake recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Buttermilk Banana Cake
January 28, 2024
Ingredients
- For Cake
- 2 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 t. ground cardamom
- 3/4 C. granulated sugar
- 3/4 C. light brown sugar
- 1/2 C. unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 C. buttermilk (room temperature)
- Flaky sea salt for garnish
- For Glaze
- 1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
- 1/4 C. buttermilk
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 t. vanilla extract
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Prepare a nine-inch cake pan by spraying it with cooking spray and lining the bottom of the pan with a parchment round. Butter the top of the parchment.
- Step 3 Measure your dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine: 2 C. flour, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. kosher salt, and 1/2 t. ground cardamom. Set aside.
- Step 4 Cream 1/2 C. butter, 3/4 C. granulated sugar, and 3/4 C. light brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. You want to use the paddle attachment and cream the ingredients at high speed for about 3 or 4 minutes.
- Step 5 Add 2 large eggs to the creamed butter mixture. Add 1 t. vanilla extract. Add mashed bananas. Mix, scraping down the sides of the mixer bowl as necessary.
- Step 6 Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients. Then, add the buttermilk. Mix. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. While you don’t want to overmix your batter, be sure all the dry ingredients are mixed into the wet ingredients. Scrape the sides of the mixer bowl as necessary.
- Step 7 Scrape the batter into your prepared cake pan and bake the cake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees F. When the cake is done it will spring back to the touch, a skewer inserted in the middle of ther cake will come out with just a few crumbs, and the internal temperature of the cake will be about 190 degrees F. Cool cake on a wire rack.
- Step 8 Prepare the glaze by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl. When the cake has cooled, turn it out of the cake pan onto a serving dish and pour/spread the glaze over the top of the cake. Sprinkle some flaky sea salt like Maldon salt over the top of the cake and serve. Alternatively, for a more informal presentation, you can leave the baked cake in the pan and pour/spread the glaze over the top of the cake in the pan.
