Dear Meghan.

You are one lucky girl. Movie star good looks. Handsome prince. Loaded grandmother-in-law.

But why didn’t you put that elegant little foot down and insist on a real cake for your wedding? What was it with that frou-frou elderflower cake anyhow?

I know., I know. You rejected the traditional British wedding cake–the dreaded fruit cake–for a cake with organic lemons, castle-grown elderflowers and cascades of elegant flowers. Good move on that one. But, still…

I know that whole tradition “thing” must have been a powerful pressure on you and Harry in picking your cake. Someone probably started out by showing you a photo of the Queen’s cake in 1947. Whoa!

And, then, of course, there was Princess Diana’s cake for her marriage to (ugh!) Charles. Sadly, that marriage had so many things going against it from the very beginning, not the least of which was that sterile-looking wedding cake baked by the head baker for the British Naval Armed Services. If I was into conspiracy theories, I would wonder if Camilla had a hand in the cake design. Just sayin…

So, I ask you, what better way would there have been to assert your American independence than by insisting upon the quintessential American cake, the banana cake, for your wedding? Surely, the queen must have had some overripe bananas sitting around the kitchens of Windsor Castle and I’m sure that people all across America would have sent you their overripe bananas for the cake. I know I would have. It would have been a slam dunk.

But that is all, as they say, water under the (London) bridge. Your wedding was beautiful.

In any event, here is a great banana cake recipe. New brides always enjoy experimenting with recipes in their modest first homes. You’ll probably be the only one baking banana cake at Kensington Palace and it’s always nice to have something sweet on hand when the Queen stops by unexpectedly with the corgis.

Give Harry a hug.

Dear Megan. It shoulda been banana cake.

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Ingredients

Cake
• 4 T. unsalted butter (softened)
• 1/4 C. vegetable oil
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 C. mashed bananas
• 3/4 C. yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 t. cinnamon
• 2 1/4 C. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1 t. baking soda
• 3/4 t. salt
Icing
• 1/2 C. cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 1/2 C. powdered sugar
• 2-4 T. milk
• Chopped walnuts (roasted) for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat butter, vegetable oil and sugar together in a large bowl. (I used my KitchenAid stand mixer.) You want the butter mixture to be light and fluffy when it is properly mixed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until the eggs are well-incorporated into the mixture.
3. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, vanilla and cinnamon to the butter mixture and mix until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated into the batter.
4. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) together with a whisk to be sure the ingredients are well-distributed in the mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and beat until everything is well-combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl occasionally.
5. Grease a bundt pan and pour the batter into the pan.
6. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes. Your cake will be done when a long skewer can be inserted into the center of the cake and comes out clean.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then, invert the cake over a rack and let it cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, make your icing. Mix the cream cheese and the powdered sugar. Stir in enough milk to make the icing thin enough to drizzle over the cake. Pour the icing over the top of the cake after the cake has thoroughly cooled.
9. Decorate with chopped roasted walnuts.

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https://bluecayenne.com/dear-megan-it-shoulda-been-banana-cake

This recipe is adapted from one that appears on the King Arthur Flour website. Here is the link: KAF Banana Cake.

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