All-New Cake Mix Doctor - Anne Byrn [127]
cool:
30 minutes
FOR TEN YEARS everyone has been humming over my Hummingbird Cake, a moist and rich banana and pineapple offering popular in the South. I haven’t met anyone who isn’t fond of this cake. But, since layer cakes topped with cream cheese frostings are messy to tote in warm weather, here’s a variation made as a sheet cake. Bake it in a 13 by 9–inch pan, then frost it and put it in the refrigerator until you are ready to travel or entertain guests. (If you’d rather make a layer cake, pour the batter into two 9-inch round pans and bake it for 30 to 35 minutes.)
½ cup chopped pecans
Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pan
Flour, for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow or vanilla cake mix
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple packed in juice, undrained
1 cup mashed bananas (from 2 to 3 very ripe bananas)
½ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting (make the amount for a sheet cake; page 471)
Plan Ahead to Bake Banana Cakes
As with all banana cakes, the riper the banana the better the flavor of the cake. So let those bananas get really dark and ripe before making this cake. To speed up the bananas’ ripening, place them in a closed paper bag. The length of time depends on how much ripening needs to happen—anywhere from overnight to a day or two.
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the pecans in a small baking pan and toast them in the oven while it preheats until they are deep brown and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Lightly mist a 13 by 9–inch metal cake pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust it with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pan aside.
3. Remove the toasted pecans from the oven, let them cool, then set them aside for the garnish. Leave the oven on.
4. Place the cake mix, pineapple with its juice, mashed bananas, water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture lightens and is smooth, about 1½ minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula, and place in the oven.
5. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and the top springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the cake pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool completely, about 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the Cream Cheese Frosting. When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting over the top and scatter the toasted pecans over the frosting. Cut the cake into serving pieces.
Keep It Fresh! Store this cake, covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, at room temperature for one day or for up to one week in the refrigerator. Freeze the cake in the pan, covered with aluminum foil, for up to three months. Let the cake thaw overnight on the counter before serving.
Recipe Reminders
MADE FOR
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PREP NOTES
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DON’T FORGET
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SPECIAL TOUCHES
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BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE
serves:
16 to 20
prep:
20 minutes
bake:
43 to 48 minutes
cool:
20 minutes
SUSAN POWELL of Buford, Georgia, wrote asking me to help her make a particular kind of banana cake. It seems her mother had clipped a recipe many years ago for a Bundt cake that began with a banana cake mix batter