This little banana cake is the perfect size to share with a couple friends or to freeze for a sweet breakfast. For something miniature and quick like this, I highly recommend owning a 4-inch cake pan.
Whenever I have a ripe or overripe banana, I peel it, wrap it in plastic and store it in the freezer so its ready for banana bread or banana cake any time. This recipe requires no oil or butter, so the shining star is most definitely the banana; it does all the work. Because of that, I indulged in a sinfully delicious peanut butter-cream cheese frosting. The combination is heavenly. I also added some chocolate chips to the banana cake because … well, isn’t the chocolate-banana-peanut butter combination reason enough? Happy baking!
Banana Peanut Butter Cake Adapted from a recipe on Taste and Tell Makes 1 4-inch cake
¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 large ripe banana, mashed (½ cup)
1 Tbsp. milk
1 egg, room temperature*
Handful chocolate chips (optional)
Peanut Butter Frosting (Recipe follows.)
1 banana, sliced for garnish (optional)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 4-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add the mashed banana and milk and use a stand mixer or hand mixer for 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix to combine.
• Fold in chocolate chips, if using. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely.
• Once cool, slice the cake in half horizontally to create two layers. Spread the top of the bottom layer with the Peanut Butter Frosting, then stack the top layer and frost it as well. Decorate with sliced banana, if desired.
Peanut Butter Frosting Adapted from a recipe on The Sweet Art 1 8-oz. package cream cheese
½ cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar, plus more to taste
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla
• Beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together with a hand mixer until whipped.
• Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla, adding more powdered sugar to taste.
*For room-temperature eggs on the fly, dunk them in a bowl of hot tap water or rinse them in hot water until the shells aren’t as cold.
This article appears in Guide to the Holidays 2013.
