But I did it anyway. I've had banana cake on the brain for a few days now, and I just couldn't fight it any longer. But first... look at these beautiful eggs I bought today!
And it's not even Easter yet!
In my advanced years (ha ha ha), I have become more careful about what I put into my body. My latest kick is trying not to eat anything I can't pronounce, and to buy as much organic food as possible -- especially dairy and eggs. It just seems right. I was at my local health food store today and realized I was almost out of eggs, and needed some for my baking projects. Perusing the egg selection, I noticed some cartons labelled "Gentle Ways Farm," which I had never heard of, which just so happens to be in my home town! Like that wasn't exciting enough, the eggs inside said cartons were smaller than the average egg, in adorable assorted pastel colors! Pink, green, blue, yellow, white, and ever-so-pale tan. I was aware of the existence of these eggs, and had seen them on TV, but had never seen them in person. I couldn't resist. I only hope the picture does them justice.
One of the white eggs went into the following tried-and-true recipe (I couldn't bear to sacrifice a colored one yet):
Banana Ring Cake
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites
3 tablespoons skim milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 medium, ripe bananas, mashed (1-1/2 cups)
Preheat the oven to 350.
Lightly oil a 10-inch tube pan, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well.
In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except bananas. Mix with fork or wire whisk until blended. Add bananas and whisk again.
Add banana mixture to dry ingredients. Mix just until all ingredients are moistened. Place in prepared pan (mixture will be shallow in pan).
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes, them remove cake to rack. Serve warm for best flavor.
This recipe comes from another of my favorite cookbooks with another dorky title: "Lean, Luscious, and Meatless," by Bobbie Hinman and Millie Snyder. Yes, the same Bobbie who brought us "Oat Cuisine." Where do you think I heard about "Oat Cuisine!" =) "Lean, Luscious, and Meatless" is a great vegetarian book full of simple, homey recipes that use fairly "normal" ingredients. It's easily one of my most-used cookbooks. And this is one of my most-used recipes. I usually have a couple bananas that get away from me when I'm near the end of the bunch, which I tend to throw in the freezer to use for smoothies (but that's another show, as my man Alton Brown would say!). Sometimes there are just too many to put in back stock. That's when the banana cake recipe calls out "pick me, pick me!" So I do. And here is the finished product...
Do you like my artistic dusting of powdered sugar? Bam! I like the way it hit the edges of the plate.
The cake didn't rise as high as it usually does, which I blamed on today's humidity... until I was typing the recipe here and realized I'd forgotten the baking powder (I thought it was strange that the recipe called for baking soda, but no powder!). Oh, well. You'd never know it was missing from tasting it. Other than this one-time mistake, I don't usually futz with this recipe too much. Except... I use one whole egg instead of two whites, for reasons I explained in my "raspberry corn muffins" entry, and I use 1-1/2% milk, for reasons I explained in my "raspberry corn muffins" entry. I use four bananas and leave out the oil. And I use sucanat, an unrefined sugar, which I find to be sweeter than white sugar, so I use a bit less than is called for. I also like to leave the bananas kind of chunky, so I get the pretty yellow pieces you can (almost) see on the top of the cake.
So there it is. A staple in our diet... good for a sugar craving, and almost guilt-free! Kevin is always very happy when I make this.
