Banana-Caramel Cake

"Banana cake + caramel icing = heaven on a plate. Overripe bananas are a must in this recipe. Country Living Newsletter November 27, 2008 edition. When you make the icing, be sure to have a candy thermometer on hand, it will help you get this icing right every time. Cool the cake pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes."
 
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photo by Andi Longmeadow Farm photo by Andi Longmeadow Farm
photo by Andi Longmeadow Farm
Ready In:
1hr 15mins
Ingredients:
15
Yields:
1 9" Frosted Cake
Serves:
12
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ingredients

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directions

  • PREPARE THE CAKE:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  • Using a small brush, lightly coat two 9-inch cake pans with softened butter or vegetable-oil cooking spray.
  • Dust with flour, tap out any excess, and set aside.
  • Over a surface covered with a large sheet of waxed or parchment paper, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Into a medium bowl, resift the flour mixture and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, using a mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the butter until light -- about 1 minute.
  • Add the sugar and continue to beat for 2 more minutes.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition, and mix in the vanilla.
  • Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture by thirds, alternating with the buttermilk and bananas and ending with the dry ingredients.
  • Mix just enough to blend the batter after each addition.
  • BAKE THE CAKE:

  • Divide the batter equally between the pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven until a tester inserted into each cake layer comes out clean -- 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Cool in the cake pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
  • Using a knife, loosen the cake layers from the pan sides and invert the layers onto the wire rack to cool completely.
  • PREPARE THE ICING:

  • In a medium saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, stir sugar, heavy cream, and lemon juice together.
  • Cook the mixture, without stirring, over medium-high heat to soft-ball stage (238ºF).
  • Remove from heat and cool the caramel mixture to 140º F.
  • Place the butter on top of the cooled caramel mixture.
  • Remove the thermometer and, using a handheld mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the caramel until it thickens enough to hold its shape, lightens in color, and changes from translucent to opaque -- about 5 minutes.
  • ICE THE CAKE:

  • Use a serrated knife to trim the mounded side of the cake layers, if necessary.
  • Line the edges of a cake plate with 3-inch-wide strips of waxed or parchment paper and place a cake layer, trimmed side down, on top.
  • Place 1 cup Caramel Icing on top of the layer and spread evenly.
  • Place the second layer, trimmed side down, on the first and cover the top and sides with the remaining icing.
  • Apply icing immediately.
  • ENJOY!

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Reviews

  1. A nice cake, but I found it a little bland. I suppose it would have more flavor with the carmel icing, but I didnt have enough brown sugar to amke it. We ate it plain. I like to use spices in my banana cakes. Today I made it per your directions. When I make it again I will add the following: 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1 more banana
     
  2. Heaven is right on the plate when you are devouring this wonderful cake. I followed this exactly, except darn it, I forgot the buttermilk from the store, so I used Recipe #206583 using whole milk and letting it sit for about 1 hour. Worked perfectly for me. Other then that, I used super-fine sugar, (this is what I have to make jelly & jam with soon) and 2 bananas, that had previously been frozen. Thawed and squeezed out the banana after cutting the top off (in the skin) and it was pure delight. Everything was perfect, and I wouldn't skimp on using pure cake flour, I believe this is what makes this so smooth, a great rise, and absolutely light as a feather. This is a great recipe and will make this again. Oh yes, I forgot to spread (the icing) on the side for the photo, but I did add some pretty flowers (from the flower garden) to the top for decoration. Also regarding the lightness of my icing~the photo lightness of the icing is due to my photo editing program, and should be noted this is more tan then whitish. I also should add: I was distracted when whipping this, (did it in my KA) and it whipped for more then 12 minutes before I remembered Ihad icing whipping, and whip it did. The produced a lighter icing, because more air was put into it from over-whip. Let's just say, thre is none left after my DS carted the rest home (about 1/8 cake left). Made for Everyday is a Holiday May 2009
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Hello all, thank you for visiting My Page but forgive me for&nbsp;it is a work in progress! :) As I am sure you have noticed I changed my Chef Name to Manami which means love &amp; beauty. ;) Just thought I should get with the program - my geisha &amp; my icon! :) Don't fret, I won't change it again! <br /><br />I am 70 years young and I live in a nursing home, which is out of this world, I am treated like a princess and the world is my oyster! I have a private room and during the season I do taxes for most of the staff, as well as my personal clients that have been following me since I left the business world about 25 years ago. I was rear-ended by a van and it turned my whole world upside down. Why dwell on that? <br /><br />I am an American Jew (from NYC) who moved to Havana, Cuba when I was 2 1/2 years old, lived there until a few days after Castro took over and vamoosed it out of that country as fast as my legs would carry me! I&nbsp;was on a forced hiatus from the UofM, due to illness. <br /><br />From there my sister, mother and I went to NYC to work and my father went to Haiti in Port-Au-Prince, where he and my uncle had purchased some tiny cocoa plantations &amp; a chocolate factory - for the choccolate liquer - to make baking chocolate (the real bitter stuff). We joined my father about 2 months later where I spent 2 of the most carefree &amp; wonderful years of my life! It is the stuff that movies are made of! (A la Grace Kelly - even my clothes were like hers)&gt;&nbsp;</p> <p>I then continued my studies in upstate NY and hated it because it was too, too cold!:( Went back to NYC to work and see what I wanted to do with my life - I was all of 20 years old and had to drop out of school because of illness and then because of the weather! Yuck - so I got a job in a Textile Buying Office as a receptionist and soon I found myself buying trimmings! Loved it and was very happy with the work I was doing. <br /><br />However, I got an offer from two young guys who had a factory in Cleveland, Ohio, where they made Maternity Clothes and they wanted me to be in charge of the shipping dept, keep inventory and in my spare time - help with the designing!! I couldn't pass it up - the offer sounded so great and the salary was twice what I was making in the NYC. So I went to Cleveland, got married, had both my children and got a divorce 15 years later. <br /><br />Then my children and I moved to South Florida and have been here since 1978, I can't count that far back :) <br /><br />Learned how to do taxes with H&amp;R Block and worked simultaneously&nbsp;as a Supervisor in 2 offices&nbsp;for them for 15 years. Then after the accident everything went spiralling downwards until I could no longer walk alone even with a walker - so the next step was a wheelchair. Stayed at home with a lot of help (nurses, PT therapists) fixed the bathroom so I could bathe myself and fixed the kitchen so I could help warm-up meals (was taught how to cook in rehab) and so forth and so on. <br /><br />However, the fire department had other plans for me, I called them too often to pick me up off the floor - how embarassing! So they gave me a choice - either a home or they would have to call HRS! :( (very sad) <br /><br />It was there, in my home where I was robbed! <img title=Cry src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-cry.gif border=0 alt=Cry />&nbsp;All my cookbooks (all my Julia Childs Cookbooks, my Settlement Cookbook which had been my mothers - published in 1939 - with all her notes) my mother's cookbooks from Cuba &amp; Haiti, all my handwritten recipes. They also took all my Delft collection, some antiques that I had in the kitchen like my rolling pin, a beautiful old &amp; used wooden bowl, a charcoal-iron that was brought north when my parents left Haiti, it was hand-painted &amp; was gorgeous, as well as all the other things that are too numerous to mention! <br /><br />That proved to be the last straw &amp; from there it was an ALF,<img title=Yell src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-yell.gif border=0 alt=Yell /> which was horrible, and then on to another home where the administrator of that home became the administrator here and voila, here I am. <img title=Smile src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile.gif border=0 alt=Smile /></p> <p>I have a beautiful large private room with a private&nbsp;bath, furnished to my liking: eclectic!&nbsp;<img title=Wink src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-wink.gif border=0 alt=Wink /> My room is large enough to house my office and all the other odds and ends with which I like to surround myself.<br /><br />During tax season, mostly, my room is always full (of course I love it that way)! I have a blanket&nbsp;my daughter bought for me in New Mexico and that is on my bed. You guessed it - that is where everbody sits or on my great grandfather's arm chair which is in great shape. <img title=Smile src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile.gif border=0 alt=Smile />&nbsp;Update 01/11/2008 that time is here again :) Have started doing taxes already and not just regular taxes but corporations, partnerships and 1040X - ammended returns! Whoopee! I love the feeling I get when this time comes around and I get into gear!!! I love it! :) <br /><br />The head chef, the kitchen supervisor &amp; the dietician enjoy the recipes from Zaar; the ones that I post, as well as, the others. We are in the process of changing the menu right now - so we have been doing a lot of figuring. The administrator is so cute because every once in a while she asks for a recipe and then she gives me a pack of paper so I can print them. <img title=Wink src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-wink.gif border=0 alt=Wink /><br /><br />I am president of the resident council and most of the family members come to me to take care of their grievances - this way I do my part - and the staff can take care of the larger problems! It has been working for 10 years - why change if it ain't broke?<img title=Wink src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-wink.gif border=0 alt=Wink /></p> <p>Well, it's time to say hasta luego folks. <img title=Laughing src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-laughing.gif border=0 alt=Laughing /><br /><br /></p>
 
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