Banana walnut cake

Halloween has arrived!  The weather is calm and for that, I am very grateful. I'm off to start a busy day but I leave you with this...have a fun day!

This cake is pretty much a no-brainer.  By that, I mean if you like baked goods with bananas and the flavors of toasted walnuts and a hint of spice, there's a very good chance you'll like this.  It's a great everyday kind of cake to make with that extra ripe banana you may have around the house.

I substituted walnuts for the pecans in the original recipe.  I'm not a huge fan of pecans but I love toasted walnuts in banana muffins and in baked goods, in general.  And for once, I didn't have to divide the recipe in half to make a smaller, 6-inch, cake because the recipe was actually written this way!  

The texture of this banana cake is lighter than typical banana bread but maybe slightly firmer than a muffin.  It has a hint of cinnamon and cloves, along with dark brown sugar to create a nice warm mix of flavors that go really well with some toasted nuts.  Tasting this cake and the way the flavor of the toasted walnuts pop, I'm reminded of the magic of toasting nuts.  I can't believe I ever used raw nuts for baking in the past because the extra flavor you get from toasting them is amazing and well worth the effort.

I improvised by making a quick and easy buttermilk substitute for this cake.  I don't know why I've never done this until now since I've made homemade crème fraîche in the past.  The recipe called for just 1/4 cup of buttermilk and I was very proud of myself for not going out specifically to buy a new carton (though I can find plenty of good uses for it these days with recipes like this one...which probably explains why I always have or want to buy buttermilk).  In this case though, I simply stirred a little lemon juice into whole milk for a quick buttermilk substitute.  I've read about this many times and everyone says it works perfectly well for baking.  As far as I can tell, it certainly did the trick!

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cakes book; I've simply adapted it to use walnuts instead of pecans and made a smaller version.  I know there's been plenty of discussion about Martha in the past weeks and not getting into all that, I did notice one interesting thread among others' comments. Many said they've had bad experiences with her recipes, which surprised me.  I can only speak from my own personal experience - which I'm the first to admit is far from vast - but I've almost always had success with Martha's recipes and many of them, particularly on the dessert end, are among my family's favorites.  And for me, I'll just continue to focus on the food and experimenting to find good eats for my family!  : )


Recipe:

Banana Walnut Cake
Adapted from "Banana Pecan Cake" recipe in Martha Stewart's Cakes

- Makes one 6-inch cake - 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup sifted cake flour, plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
1 very ripe large banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup buttermilk*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts (or pecans)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

* If you do not have buttermilk on hand, you can make a quick substitute like I did.  In a measuring cup, I added nearly 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, then added enough whole milk to make 1/4 cup.  Stir mixture together and let sit for a few minutes before using.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 6 x 2 inch round cake pan.  Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter the parchment.  Dust with flour, tapping out excess.  (Alternatively, use baking spray to grease the cake pan, including the parchment round).

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves together into a bowl.  In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the mashed banana, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Beat butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the egg.  Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the banana mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat until just combined.  Stir in the walnuts using a rubber spatula.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing out the top.  Bake until cake is golden brown, about 45 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan, turn the cake out, remove the parchment, and let cake cool completely on the wire rack.  Dust the cooled cake with confectioners' sugar before serving.