Mama's Famous Banana Cake

Ya’ll, I’m serious about this domestic stuff.

For the first time ever on this blog… a recipe…



And it’s Rachel Ray approved.

Actually, I don’t know if Rachel would approve, but I’ve had that picture forever, and I’ve been DYING to use it. She’s so crazy. I love her.

Mama’s Famous Banana Cake

First, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease up your favorite large cake pan – we used a 12x8.

Grab a bowl… any old bowl will do. Combine:
2 cups of flour
1 tsp (pronounced ‘tisp’) baking powder
1 tisp baking soda
¼ tisp of salt, which is the same thing as saying a dash of salt, but seeing words like dash and pinch in a recipe INFURIATES me so I won’t do that to you…
1 and ½ cups of sugar
½ cup of veggie shortening

Grab a measuring cup… any old measuring cup will do. Combine:
½ cup of milk and 1 tisp of white vinegar. We’re making sour milk, which is kind of gross, but it makes it taste nice, so just go with it. You’re going to let that concoction sit for about 2 minutes so it can ferment and curdle and what not… and then add 1 tisp of vanilla extract. Pour it on top of all that other junk in the bowl.

Now the fun part. Take 3 over ripe bananas. Overripe means black… like seriously almost rotten. My mom swears it doesn’t work if the bananas are the least bit fresh. She likes to use bananas that are about one day shy of going in the trash. Anyway, peel the bananas, mash them up in your fingers and add it to the junk in the bowl.

Finish it up with 2 eggs

Mix well with a mixer until it’s a nice, smooth, creamy batter. It’s OK if there are some bits of banana, but nothing too big. Pour the banana-ey goodness into the cake pan and bake for 25 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, depending on your oven, you may need to do the old broom/toothpick test. It should rise in the middle and pull away from the sides.

Let it cool, ya’ll.

YAY FROSTING! Grab a bowl, and throw in about a tbsp (pronounced ‘tablespoon’) of softened butter. Then add a nice handful of powdered sugar. Pour in a little bit of milk and start stirring. The gist here, and I have to explain it because it isn’t an exact science, apparently, is you want to slowly add milk to the powdered sugar until the frosting is the consistency you want. I like it pretty thick and gooey, but you could also go with something closer to a glaze… it’s kind of your business. Once you get the consistency you want, add a drop (I know… let’s say ¼ of a tisp again) of vanilla extract, and you’re done. After all that, if you need more frosting, just add more powdered sugar and more milk and more vanilla until you have enough.

Glop it onto your cake and ENJOY!!