I think I have a serious baking addiction on the weekends.
Is this a bad thing, you ask?
I love to spend my Saturday mornings in the kitchen, television tuned into The Food Network while I decide what sort of baking concoction I’m craving. Yesterday I made some mighty delicious Cinnamon Bun Scones via A Lovely Living.
But that just wasn’t enough to satisfy my baking itch. There’s just something almost relaxing about baking for me – I love the whole process of measuring and mixing and creating. Well yes, and the eating part, too. But truthfully, that’s almost secondary to the baking process. (I’m a bit geeky like that.)
Today, I decided to get rid a few of my past-their-prime bananas that I have stored in the freezer. Joe loves banana muffins and banana bread, so I figured I’d give the BEST Banana Cake Ever a whirl from a blogger I follow and really enjoy – Nurse Loves Farmer. (I’ve also been lucky to get to know Sarah, the woman behind Nurse Loves Farmer, via a new social media group we’re both a part of – Ask The Farmers, which I wrote about here!)
I made a few of my own tweaks – namely I added chocolate chips because, if I’m going to be honest here, both Joe and I can’t get enough chocolate chips in our banana bread. And I didn’t have the heavy cream on hand that the frosting called for, so I substituted this Brown Butter Frosting from The Recipe Critic. Plus I doubled the recipe to fit a 9×13 pan – I want to have extra to bring to the office tomorrow to share.
I think the result was amazing – moist cake that is ultra banana-y, with plenty of chocolate and yummy frosting. I have a feeling this will become a regular addition to my baking regimen; this truly was a delicious banana cake and I almost always have the ingredients on hand so it’s something I can just whip up on whim.
Recipe follows below – have a great start to your week!
Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
- 1-1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, softened
- 1-1/2 cups mashed super ripe banana (about 4)
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. (or 350 F. if you are using a glass baking dish).
- Using a mixer (or by hand, if you prefer), cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and 2 tablespoons softened butter.
- Add & mix mashed bananas and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Add flour and baking soda; mix well.
- Stir in chocolate chips and pour entire mixture into greased 9×13 pan.
- Bake at 375 F. for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Recipe adapted from Nurse Loves Farmer’s BEST Banana Cake Ever.
Brown Better Frosting
- 1/2 c. butter
- 4 c. powdered sugar
- 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp. milk
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).
- Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm cake (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).
I’m glad you liked it, this is my father-in-law’s favourite cake I make. He would probably do anything if I make him this cake! You should try it once with the “original” vanilla frosting, it is to DIE for!
I will definitely try it with the original frosting soon! My husband – who is not typically a cake / dessert kind of guy – sure is loving this cake and I have a feeling I will be making it again very soon. 🙂