Why do I buy bananas! I can’t eat them (allergic) and my husband Ed sometimes eats them, but not regularly enough to warrant my buying a bunch whenever I shop.
But I do buy them.
I love the smell of bananas and must confess that I get a vicarious thrill when I see people enjoying them. I also like the smell of banana bread and banana cake baking in the oven, so I frequently make one or the other to give away. If it’s a new recipe I’ll take a taste (and spit).
Here’s the latest one. It has a crust that I usually use over a fruit cobbler but here it adds a good, sweet, crunchy top for the soft cake beneath.
Banana Crunch Cake
Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 cups quick oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Melt the butter and set it aside. In a bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mix ingredients. Pour in the melted butter. Mix until the dry ingredients are thoroughly coated with the butter. Set aside.
Cake:
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/4 cup buttermilk, plain yogurt or dairy sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust and set it aside. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a small bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until creamy and well blended. Add the eggs and bananas and beat the ingredients for another 2-3 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Add the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk and blend in ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla extract. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Cover the top evenly with the crust mixture. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes 12-18 servings