Betty is just one of those cool gals, ya know? She’s effortlessly beautiful, has the most phenomenal sense of style, and can bake like she was trained in Italy. Plus, she’s just so sweet and generous, you simply can’t not love her. When she gave us her recipe for Betty’s Banana Cake our hearts fluttered. We couldn’t get over her thoughtfulness and just how sweet, moist, banana-y and crumbly this delicious dessert was. And the creamy vanilla frosting on top was just magnificent. Gosh, she’s just the best friend ever. Bring a little bit of her trademark pizzaz to your life with a slice of Betty’s Banana Cake!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more, for dusting a pan
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/8 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- banana slices, to taste, for garnish
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Step 2 –Grease and flour a 9×13-inch pan.
Step 3 –In a small bowl, combine the bananas with the lemon juice.
Step 4 –In a medium bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, and the salt.
Step 5 –In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and 3/4 cup of the butter until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Step 6 –Beat the eggs into the sugar mixture one at a time.
Step 7 –Add 2 teaspoons of the vanilla to the sugar mixture.
Step 8 –Alternate beating the flour mixture and the buttermilk into the butter mixture.
Step 9 –Stir the banana mixture into the batter mixture.
Step 10 –Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Step 11 –Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
Step 12 –Transfer the cake directly into the freezer for 45 minutes.
Step 13 –In a mixing bowl, cream the remaining butter and the cream cheese until smooth.
Step 14 –Beat the remaining vanilla into the cream cheese mixture.
Step 15 –Add the confectioners’ sugar to the cream cheese mixture and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until it is combined, then beat on high speed until the frosting is smooth.
Step 16 –Spread the frosting onto the cooled cake and top with the banana slices.
Step 17 –Serve.