What do you do when you’re not a fan of Banana Bread or Banana Muffins, or Banana ‘anything’ …and there are those over-ripe bananas that you didn’t have the heart to get rid of at Christmas taking up valuable space in your freezer …every time you open the freezer, there they are, staring back at you as if to say…”Pick ME!!” Well, today I did just that … and now I needed to figure out a way to make a better banana bread so that I, also, could become a fan.
First of all I made the batter into a sheet cake, and then I topped it with a Penuche Frosting (how could that be anything but good!). An additional flavor and texture component came with some candied walnuts. WOW! …it passed the test, and I am now an avid fan of Banana Bread.
This batter can also be used make regular banana bread (loaf pan), or some banana muffins (standard muffin pan)…. but now that you have a choice to make it another way, why would you?
Banana Sheet Cake with Penuche Frosting
Prep Time: 20 minutes Baking Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 1 10 x 15 sheet cake (20 pieces)
Ingredients:
1 cup (250 mL) mashed bananas, 2-3 large ripe bananas
½ cup (125 mL) buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons (7 mL) baking soda
300 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking powder
½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
60 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
60 mL (1/4 cup) vegetable oil (or half walnut oil and half vegetable oil)
105 g (1/2 cup hard-packed) dark brown sugar
250 mL (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons (10 mL) pure vanilla extract
½ cup (125 mL) chopped walnuts (lightly toasted and cooled)
Penuche Frosting and Candied Walnuts: (recipes follow)
Method:
- Prepare baking sheet (10 x 15), loaf pan (5 x 9), or a muffin pan by spraying with an oil spray; and/or using parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 0F (1800C).
- Combine the mashed bananas with the buttermilk and baking soda. Mix and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large mixer bowl, beat together the butter, oil(s), brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- Alternately, add the banana mixture and flour mixture to the mixing bowl, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Fold in chopped walnuts.
- Place in prepared pan. Bake sheet cake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Penuche Frosting:
1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter
210 g (1 cup hard-packed) golden brown sugar
¼ cup (60 mL) heavy cream
¼ teaspoon (1.5 mL) salt
2 teaspoons (10 mL) pure vanilla extract
2 – 2 ½ cups Confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar)
Method for Frosting:
- In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add brown sugar and stir over medium heat until it comes to a ‘low bubble’ – cook for about 2 minutes. Gradually add cream and salt and stir until mixture comes back to a low boil again. Remove from heat and cool completely. Add vanilla.
- When the butter/sugar mixture has sufficiently cooled, gradually beat in enough confectioner’s sugar until thick and of spreading consistency. Start with about 1 ½ cups of sugar, and gradually add more as you deem necessary – a hand mixer works well with this frosting.
- Spread frosting over banana cake and sprinkle with some candied walnuts*.
Candied walnuts*
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 1 cup of whole or halved walnuts, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, and a tablespoon of butter. Heat and stir constantly as the sugar starts to melt. This may take about 5 minutes. Watch carefully as it can burn.
Remove from heat; place on a piece of parchment paper and separate the nut pieces before they start to cool.
When cool, give them a rough chop and sprinkle over frosting.
Questions and comments are always welcome alex@chilipeppersandpears.com
