Simple banana cake for the weekend

I don’t know about you guys, but weekends for me mean cake: a slice for lazy breakfasts or to eat while watching a movie on the couch.

I told a while ago that it is difficult for me to bake with bananas because my husband and I eat them all in no time, but because of the summer that changed a bit: we continued to eat bananas like crazy, but because of the hot days they would become too ripe too fast, therefore now I have some bananas in my freezer and the first recipe I made with them was this cake, a recipe from the always great Stephanie Alexander.

The cake is insanely moist and tender, with a hint of cinnamon and a lovely banana flavor – I thought of icing it with a chocolate glaze, but then I thought that it was called “simple banana cake”, so I kept it simple and served it with a dusting of icing sugar only – it was a very good decision, for this cake needs nothing more than that.

Simple banana cake
slightly adapted from the oh, so wonderful The Cook's Companion: The Complete Book of Ingredients and Recipes for the Australian Kitchen

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (35g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 large ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (120ml) buttermilk*
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line the base with baking paper and butter the paper as well. Sprinkle with flour and knock out the excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl. On medium speed, beat in the banana and vanilla. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, and mix just until incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until golden and risen and a fine skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely in the pan over a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Serves 16