I’ve slowly been collecting bags of mashed bananas in my freezer. I’m not a crazy cat lady, I’m a crazy banana lady. I wear the badge proudly.
Those damn bananas. I have a love/hate relationship with them. They’ve gotta be eaten at just the right time. Once those brown spots appear, game’s over. OR, did it just start? Cause BANANA CAKE BITCHES!
Now this cake is my favorite banana cake for a lot of different reasons.
- It’s made in a bundt pan
. BUNDT YEAH! In my opinion, it creates a better, more even bake than making banana bread in a loaf pan.
- The combination of banana and cardamom will soon have you on a bus to flavor town.
- It’s super moist (more so than banana bread in my opinion) and keeps for days. WEEKS. Ok, not weeks, but for a long time.
- This recipe is incredibly versatile. Go nuts. Seriously add some nuts. Add other spices. Swirl some damn Nutella in there. The possibilities are endless my friend.
- And obviously, it’s an easy, simple, recipe. It’s me we’re talking about.
- And yeah I’ve been bashing on that banana bread cause I think this is so much better and yada-yada-yada I’ll shut up.
. BUNDT YEAH! In my opinion, it creates a better, more even bake than making banana bread in a loaf pan.
I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite, most reached-for cookbooks of all time; Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Damn Dorie, you know what you’re doing.
She’s got staple recipes that you can put your own spin on. Who doesn’t love that? Thanks Dorie. Call me.
Let me know if you make this bundt and how you adapted it if you decided to switch things up. I would love to hear from you. Enjoy my friends!
Banana Cardamom Bundt Cake
Print RecipeIngredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- about 4 very ripe, spotty bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
- 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (or a combo of the two)
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°F Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. (If you use a silicone 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 inches Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don't be scared 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 65-75 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 have time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit overnight before serving - it's even better the next day.
Notes
This cake is great on it's own, without any glaze or frosting. I made a simple, vanilla glaze by combining about 1 1/2 cups of sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and enough milk until consistancy was smooth (start with 1 tablespoon and go from there). A cream cheese frosting would be freaking delicious too! Recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my Home to Yours.
