Sunday, August 2, 2009

Mom's Banana Cake

Mom's Banana Cake

Out of all the recipes my mom gave me, this is the one I cherish the most. Whenever I bite into this moist, delicious cake I'm immediately transported back to my childhood. I close my eyes and I remember riding my bike around the neighborhood with my friends, climbing trees and making mud pies in the backyard. And when I return home from my adventures, the sweet aroma of my mom's banana cake would welcome me back.

Today, I have one more very special reason why I love this cake. It was the very first recipe I modified when my son was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. I made it just in time for his birthday. It was a proud moment for me to watch him enjoy a slice of his own birthday cake.

This cake is so simple to make, you just mix everything in a bowl. You don't even need to use a mixer. So whenever you have overripe bananas lying around, transform them into this delectable treat and I'm sure it will become a family favorite in your home as well.

I've included below my mom's original recipe as well as the allergen-free recipe I created for my son.

Banana Cake
Makes 24 servings.
Allergy Note: contains eggs, wheat and dairy*

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs *
2/3 cups vegetable oil
2/3 cups evaporated milk *
2 cups mashed bananas, about 3 to 4 medium-sized ones (add 2-3 tsp. lemon juice to prevent browning)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For vegan alternatives:
*for an egg-free version, replace eggs with 1 tablespoon of Ener-G Egg Replacer (found in healthfood stores) add 3/4 tsp baking powder (2 tsp. total) and 2 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice.
for a dairy-free version, replace milk with 2/3 cup rice milk, soy milk, coconut milk or applesauce.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan. (You can also use a muffin pan to make cupcakes)

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, vegetable oil, evaporated milk, bananas and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix till combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting and serving.



Allergy-friendly Banana Cake
I modified my mom's banana cake recipe so my son could have a birthday cake that he could actually eat. I topped them with vanilla frosting (recipe below).

2 1/2 cups oat flour*
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (found in healthfood stores)
1 Tbs. Ener-G Egg Replacer (found in healthfood stores)
2/3 cup rice milk
2/3 cup canola oil
3 medium bananas, mashed with 1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. molasses
1/2 cup shredded carrots (optional)

*if you can't find oat flour, you can take rolled oats and pulse them in the food processor to make oat flour

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch pans or line two muffin pans with paper muffin cups.
-Combine oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum and Egg Replacer in a medium bowl. Set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl, mix together rice milk, oil, bananas, vanilla extract and molasses. Add
oat flour mixture to batter and stir until smooth. Pour into prepared pans or fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
-Let cool completely before serving.

Vanilla Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup Spectrum vegetable shortening (found in healthfood stores)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp. rice milk

- Using a whisk attachment, beat together the powdered sugar and vegetable shortening till light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and rice milk.

For Chocolate Frosting, add 2-3 Tbsp. cocoa powder. If it becomes to dry, add a little more rice milk. (UPDATE: Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder plus 1 to 2 tablespoons of rice milk)

29 comments:

Snooky doodle said...

this looks so good! I m always in search for banana recipes and this one looks delicious! I ll try iy :)

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Mmmmm, I've got bananas sitting on the counter that have seen better days. Thanks for sharing!
~ingrid

Jennifer said...

Great cake! I love recipes like that, that are handed down! :)

Anna said...

I love family recipes that take you back like that... they're always the best!

Mini Baker said...

Yum! I like recipes for banana CAKE rather than BREAD! So I'll be trying this one. Thanks for sharing! Great blog!
Happy Baking.
Mini Baker

papertesseract said...

Hi, I found your blog through foodgawker and I find it so inspiring - your photos are great and you make cooking and baking seem so simple.
I just made this cake and it was the most delish slice of banana cake I've ever had! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!

Now i'm off to have a slice, this time with Nutella :P

-Ruth

Anonymous said...

Is this made with all purpose flour or cake flour? :)

meg said...

By flour is this all purpose flour or cake flour? :D thank you! Dying to try this out.

Anonymous said...

Does this use all purpose flour, whole wheat or cake flour? :)

Art of Dessert said...

Oops! I forgot to specify. I used all-purpose flour :-)

Unknown said...

This is in the egg-free recipes? But it contains eggs? :s

Anonymous said...

I really wanted to make this tonight after the little one goes to sleep and just realized I don't have a can of condensed milk. Do you think coconut milk would be an ok sub?

Art of Dessert said...

Hi Theresa! In the recipe, I did mention that you can substitute eggs with Ener-G Egg Replacer.

Coolchkmic! did you mean substitute the evaporated milk with coconut milk? I'm sure that'll work fine :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi, Where I live, we dont really get Egg Replacers... could you help on how to modify the recipe? maybe more milk..? baking pd / soda...?

Art of Dessert said...

You could add an additional 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch.

Unknown said...

I just made this last night, and I love it! I finally found a banana cake recipe that taste like the Philippines' banana cake that I used to buy from our local movie theater, I was looking for that taste for years, so thank you for sharing your mom's recipe! :)

How long can you store this in room temperature? I don't want to put in the fridge yet.

Art of Dessert said...

You're welcome Josefin! This cake should be fine in room temperature for a few hours but I would definitely store it in the fridge to prevent spoilage.

Unknown said...

Thanks! I already put it in the fridge, I'm going to give some to my friend tomorrow, she loves banana cake too.

Unknown said...

I would like to make this cake for tonight, but want to use whole wheat flour. Is there a difference in the measurement of dry ingredients? Thanks...... :)

Art of Dessert said...

Hi G! You can start with equal amounts. Depending on how dense the whole wheat flour you're using is, you may need to add a bit more milk to compensate for that.

Heather said...

If I wanted to use egg replacer, do I mix the tablespoon with water like on the directions, or just put the Tbsp of powder in with the oil and other ingredients? I can't wait to try this!!

Art of Dessert said...

Hi Heather! You can just sift in the Egg Replacer along with the dry ingredients :-)

Anonymous said...

I would like to say that I made this banana cake today and they are simply scrumptious.
Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe.

Anonymous said...

I made this cake yesterday and my only complaint is that I can't stop eating it! It's so yummmy! Thanks for posting the recipe.

Anonymous said...

This was the best banana cake recipe I've ever made--my mother, not the biggest sweet fan, finished half of it.

Thank you!

Unknown said...

Hi! Can I use canola oil instead of veg oil? :)

Art of Dessert said...

Hi! Yes, you sure can :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi - is this 2 thirds of a cup or 2-3 cups please?

Art of Dessert said...

Hi! It's two thirds of a cup :-)

ShareThis

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...