GOING BANANAS FOR BUNDT

I know that this blog is already heavily weighted towards all things banana bread and I know that I really should be expanding my cake repertoire but I knew I wanted to bake, I knew it was too cold to go shopping for ingredients, I knew I had all of the ingredients to try Dorie Greenspan's banana bundt. That was all the motivation I needed to choose it over the blueberry cake that was coming in a close second.

Sorry.

I promise my next cake will not involve bananas. I can't promise that it won't be another bundt however, that shiny tin hasn't yet lost its appeal.

Oh, and the bundt? It was good. I'm not sure it tops my standard Nigella banana bread recipe but I'm already looking forward to taking a post lunch slice to work every day this week, there's nothing like a slice of bundt (or any home made cake for that matter) to brighten up a January week at work.

CLASSIC BANANA BUNDT CAKE (from Baking: From My Home to Yours)

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 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 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.

If you've got the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving - it's better the next day.

Optional 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.

Half batch for muffins:
If you want 1/2 the recipe and make muffins, Dorie Greenspan wrote it up herself on Serious Eats: Banana Cake Big and Small.