Michaels Favorite Banana Nut Cake Recipes

MICHAEL'S FAVORITE BANANA NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans; set pans aside.
• Prepare banana nut cake: In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
• Add eggs and oil, and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened; do not beat.
• Stir in bananas, pecans and vanilla.
• Divide batter equally among prepared pans.
• Bake cake 25-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of layers comes out clean.
• Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.
• With small metal spatula or knife, loosen layers from sides of pans; invert onto racks to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• While layers are cooling, prepare cream cheese frosting: In medium bowl, with mixer on medium speed, blend together cream cheese and butter.
• Gradually beat in sifted confectioners' sugar, increase speed to medium-high; beat until frosting is light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla.
• Reserve pecans to sprinkle on frosted cake or, if you like, stir into frosting.
• Fill and frost cake, using about 1/2 cup frosting between each layer.

THE BEST BANANA BUNDT CAKE (DORIE GREENSPAN)

Steps:

• 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 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 65-75 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.
• 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.
• MUFFIN OPTION: Halve the recipe. You can add nuts or chocolate chips. Bake 28-32 minutes. Yields 12 muffins.

DAD'S BANANA NUT BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan, or line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the bananas.
• Mix in the self-rising flour and flax seed meal until just incorporated; fold in the walnuts.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes for muffins, or 1 hour for a loaf. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.