Following a strange twist of fate it turns out that I don’t have to go to school today. Hurray! I usually get up at 4:45AM in order to make it to my first class on time, so I should have slept in - but when my internal clock jolted me awake at 5:00AM I decided to do some baking. Oh yes. As if there was ever any doubt, my baking addiction knows no bounds and the confection of choice? Banana Bundt Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking From My Home to Yours.”
Banana Bundt Cake
(View larger image here)
Baking at 5 o’clock in the morning when your kitchen is right next to the bedroom and your husband is soundly sleeping is a little like being a secret agent. I tip-toed around the apartment and opened the cabinets oh so slowly. If a door creaked or a pan clinked I froze, listening for the tell-tale sound of my husband waking up. Did I wake him? Should I continue? The suspense was intense, I tell ya, but after creaming the butter & sugar in the office (to mask the noise) you’ll be happy to know that I pulled it off. And when the hubby got up at 7:00AM what did he find waiting for his breakfast? Banana Bundt Cake. Mission Accomplished.
One quick side note before I share this lovely recipe: Dorie now has a blog! Mozy on over and say hello why don’t ya. 
Classic Banana Bundt Cake (Or, Secret Agent Banana Bundt Cake)
Ingredients: Makes 1 Bundt Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
- About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups)
- 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (I only had 1/2 a cup of sour cream so I used that plus 1/2 cup of whole milk)
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. (If you use a silicone Bundt pan there’s no need to butter it.) Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven’s heat to circulate through the Bundt’s inner tube.
Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don’t be disturbed when the batter curdles), all the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to debubble the batter and smooth the top.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature.
Bonus: Lemony White Icing
Sift 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar into a bowl and squeeze in enough fresh lemon juice (start with 2 teaspoons and add more by drops) to make an icing thin enough to drizzle down the Bundt’s curves.
This recipe is from the ever fabulous “Baking from My Home to Yours,” by Dorie Greenspan.
