Potluck Banana Cake

I love buying bananas with very little intention of eating them.  I might throw one or two into my lunchbox, but mostly I let them sit on my table until they turn mottled and spotty and I can bake them into something fun.  Fun fact - did you know that you can freeze your brown bananas before they go totally bad on you?  I currently have three bananas in my freezer and I am pretty pumped about it.

Here's something else to be pumped about: this is a banana cake that is far more amazing than it sounds.  Let's be honest, the term "banana cake" might not send shivers of excitement down your spine.  But I made this cake one Sunday to bring up to a little gathering at my grandmother's house, and everyone was blown away by it.  I think what helps is that the cake is super soft and moist (hate that word) thanks to sour cream, and tastes just the right amount of banana.  The frosting is nothing you would expect: it's coffee-flavored.  There are instant coffee granules in there.  I thought it was a really weird combination, but this cake got rave reviews at Gram's.  Just look at Kenzie's blissful face!

This is an easy cake (I love anything I can bake in my covered Pyrex) that is portable, sweet, and surprisingly delightful for a humble old banana cake!

Recipe:

potluck banana cake
from Taste of Home
makes 12 - 15 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 cup sour cream
for coffee frosting:
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectionary sugar
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
2 - 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

1) Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 2) In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas and sour cream, beating well after each addition.

3) Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

4) For frosting, beat butter and confectionary sugar until smooth.  Dissolve coffee granules in milk; add to butter mixture and beat until smooth.  Spread over cake.