banana hazelnut cake

banana hazelnut cake

• 6.11.2019

Well, this is my second cake. The frosting didn't come out quite as beautiful as the first one last week - but it tastes pretty delicious and I'm good with that. On Friday, I googled "spring cakes" and landed on this website called "The Cake Blog". So many good options. I'm actually a little tempted to try and do one cake a week - or other similar-ish dessert.

I still had a couple of bananas leftover so this is a banana cake again - but it is different. There is a little less banana in the actual cake and the frosting has nutella in it. Amazing right? I'm not totally invested this whole cake baking process quite yet, so when the recipe also called for "homemade chocolate ganache" .... I just drizzled chocolate syrup on the cake and called it a day. I don't feel bad about it.

The funny part about this cake baking is that I really have never thought of myself as someone who "likes" cake. I'll choose a cookie or a tart or a shortcake or a biscuit before I'd ever choose cake. But, when you make it yourself the affection grows a bit more. That being said, I need to start giving this cake away more aggressively because it is not healthy to eat cake this much. I already have a lot of other troublesome things I like to eat regularly and cannot add cake to the list. Dunkin Donuts coffee rolls are a new favorite. It's like a glazed donut and a cinnamon roll had a delicious baby. So good.

Either way, the reviews on this cake were really solid. My cousin Molly liked it more than the prior banana cake. After eating it my dad said to me "I thought you said this cake didn't come out great?" To clarify that last point, I think the cake itself was great. A little bit sweeter and lighter than Cake #1 but the frosting definitely lacked a better consistency. I should have added more butter probably.

Here's how it goes.

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour round pans.
2. Mash ripe bananas in a small bowl with a fork and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
4. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes). It truly is worth it to beat for the extra time. The consistency on the butter and sugar changes and you'll see a difference.
5. With the mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla extract.
6. With the mixer on low, add in half of the dry ingredients.
7. Mix in the sour cream.
8. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and mashed bananas. Mix until combined.
9. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake until golden – about 22-25 minutes for the 6-7 inch recommended size. 

Assembly

1. In between layers of cake, you can drizzle chocolate syrup. I think it helped to keep the cake extra moist - but what do I know?

Shopping List

3 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain sour cream 

For the Frosting1/2 - 3/4 Cups Butter Softened
4ish Cups Powdered Sugar
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3-5 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream