When I was married many years ago my two grandmothers gave me copies of two of the most popular cookbooks of that time, McCall’s Cook Book and Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, both published in 1963. Many years later these are still two of my favorite books. The recipes are down to earth and not cluttered with hard to find ingredients that I have to drive all over town to buy. In these books my grandmothers and my mother found many of the recipes they prepared for everyday meals. Pages in both books have started to fall out and the most used pages are stained and have started to darken around the edges. Ha…that makes me sound ancient, doesn’t it? Considering the fact that these books are almost 50 years old I guess I am ancient.
This simple banana cake is one of the best I’ve ever tried. Everything goes into one mixing bowl and the cake is light, delicate, and tender with a wonderful banana flavor. My dad liked it frosted with whipped cream, sliced bananas and a sprinkle of finely chopped walnuts on the top, but this time a simple cream cheese frosting sounded better to me. As you can see, I was a little heavy handed with the frosting. My mom liked to frost just the tops of the layers so that’s the way I do it. Spread thinner the amount of frosting will frost the sides as well. The layers freeze nicely so you can stick one in the freezer for another day if a big cake is too much.
An easy trick to make sure your layers are the same size is to weigh the filled cake pans on a digital scale. It takes only a minute and the guessing is eliminated. I don’t know how I would get along without my little scale. I use it almost every day… a must have kitchen tool.
- 2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
- 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 or 3)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- FROSTING:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease well and flour two 8 inch layer cake pans or a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- Into the large bowl of an electric mixer sift flour with baking powder, soda, salt and sugar.
- Add shortening, bananas and vanilla. At low speed beat just until combined.
- At medium speed beat 2 minutes, occasionally scraping side of bowl with rubber scraper.
- Add eggs and buttermilk, beat 2 minutes longer.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake layers 30-35 minutes, oblong pan 40-45 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip.
- Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool thoroughly on a wire rack. Fill with sweetened whipped cream and sliced bananas or with cream cheese frosting.
- CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- Beat cream cheese with butter and vanilla until well combined. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach the consistency and sweetness that suits your taste.
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A NOTE ABOUT MY PANIC WHEN MY BLOG DISAPPEARED… One of the big problems involved in working with my blog is that I don’t know what to do when something bad happens. I don’t know how to troubleshoot and many of the help sites are written in a jargon I don’t understand. It is slowly getting better and I learn a lot when there is a malfunction. The best source of help has been my blogger friends who quickly respond to my SOS email. A huge thanks to everyone who sent me advice. You saved my sanity. If you are thinking of moving to self-hosted WordPress and are computer illiterate like I am just expect that there will be a steep learning curve, but you can do it. And you will be so glad you did.
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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Love to find cookbooks for teh 60s when I started cooking. They did use Shortening then, don’t see that too much anymore. Love the buttermilk in there and you can’t go wrong with a cream cheese icing.
Wowie, does that ever look delicious Cathy! I am printing this! I don’t know what I would do either if my blog went poof! I have considered WordPress too.
My daughter gave me kitchen scale for Christmas so I had better get baking:D
bellini recently posted..Crab Cakes with Ginger and Coconut Milk by Barbara Tropp
Who would not love a slice of this banana cake? Looks so good and moist and I love a cream cheese icing. xo
Barbara F. recently posted..Never Enough Wishes for a Good New Year
This looks absolutely delicious! I have bananas sitting on my counter so maybe this will be the project I make today!
Erin @ Making Memories recently posted..Bird Seed Biscuits
My very first cookbook was McCall’s, given to me for my 20th birthday by my best friend Amy. Wonderful memories.
However, my favorite banana layer cake has always been the one from Silver Palate. Yours looks delicious too!
Karen@Mignardise recently posted..À Bientôt
Your cake looks magnificent and that frosting is over the top goodness! Love it and I’d love a slice right now!!! I have the same cookbooks, got them as wedding shower gifts in 1967; still use them even though they’re old, stained and tattered. Sometimes old is a good thing, Cathy!!! lol!!!
The Better Homes cookbook was purchased during my home economics years in high school. I still have mine…recipes written everywhere…torn pages…pages stuck together from my messy cooking but I still love that old book. Its one of my favorites. They did come out with a gold cover edition and I have that too. I think it is chocked full of good recipes and techniques.
Hi Kathy, Your cake looks beautiful. Many tried and true recipes never go out of favor with us. Your fathers favorite with whipped cream sounds delicious as well. By the way, I have checked your blog from two different computers and you have fixed the problem. I’m glad I could help by checking it for you.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted..Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers Two Ways
Hi Cathy, I too started out cooking in the early 60s with these two cookbooks, as I suspect the majority of young brides did! This cake has always been a big hit, with my children, and now my grandchildren. You just can’t quibble with pure goodness!
I am a retired chef now, with thousands of cookbooks in my library. Since my retirement, I buy beautiful cookbooks with fabulous photographs, but I still read these good old standbys!
Chef Kay Tucker recently posted..There they go again!
Heavy handed with the frosting? I don’t think that’s possible. My sweet tooth loves a GOOD frosting (not that fake stuff from supermarket bakeries). I’m ho-hum about banana bread. However, I’m banking that the buttermilk makes this cake moist and delicious. This is such a classic looking cake, and I do like that the cake isn’t frosting all the way around the sides. Sign me up, Cathy, for a slice.
PS: I ate that bag of cinnamon-almonds all to myself. Call me selfish, but they were good!
Foodiewife recently posted..Duck Breasts with Citrus Port Cherry Sauce– Ooh-la-la!
That looks amazing! I soooo need to make a cake soon:@)
It looks wonderful, Cathy, and very much like the recipe I have used for years, which came from an older teacher I taught with. The blacker the banana the better. The cream cheese icing is one of my favorites.
Beautiful!
Kathleen recently posted..Eggsactly! Farm Fresh!
I think I had those same cookbooks when i first got married. You can see that the recipes have held up well – that banana cake looks scrumptious. I weigh my cakes too when I have more than one layer.
ciaochowlinda recently posted..Baked Apples
I still have and use the 1970′s edition of the BH &G cookbook my sister gave me when I got married, Cathy. I’ve learned many a good recipe through it. Your banana cake looks moist and delicious ans the thick cream cheese frosting really makes it special.
Pat recently posted..Thank You
That is such a perfect cake, Cathy. Those old cookbooks are filled with the best recipes. Especially the church ones.
Already copied the recipe!
Barbara recently posted..Lentils Like Baked Beans
I’m going to give this a whirl, Cathy! We served Banana-Nut Cake at our wedding and it has always been a favorite. Yours looks amazing! THANKS…
renee recently posted..Potato, Sausage and Egg Gratin
I can’t believe in my many years of baking I’ve never made a banana cake like this – it has always been banana nut bread with my over ripe bananas! The photo of your cake is making my mouth water, though, and I’m grabbing a copy of the recipe
Glad you got your blog fixed! Blogger is having issues again and the link to my blog list hasn’t been working for several days. Looks like I’ll have to put it back on the side bar. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to change to WordPress but if Blogger continues to act up – I just may.
Susan recently posted..Pork Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Butter
is it bad that i want to eat this for breakfast? how gorgeous, and so delicious looking!
teresa recently posted..Thai Coconut Shrimp
Yum! That cake looks delicious. I’m definitely going to be making this. Thanks for the recipe. You just perfectly described my 1969 Betty Crocker cookbook. Some of the pages in mine are taped together! laurie
laurie recently posted..EVENING IN PARIS
So glad you have the print recipe on your blog. This is one recipe I need in my files!
Absolutely gorgeous! You know how to frost it right – a gorgeous thick layer of cream cheese lusciousness! My mouth is just watering over this yummy cake.
Jacqueline recently posted..Lemon Mousse Tres Leche Cupcakes
There is no such thing as too much icing! This looks so yummy. I may have to give it a try. You have a cute blog!
april recently posted..Easy Treat
I received this very same McCall’s cookbook when I was in junior high from my parents for Christmas. Those were the days of Home Economics for girls and shop class for boys. It’s one of my all time favorites in my cookbook collection which counts well over a hundred now. A tried and true, go to cookbook. Can’t wait to try this delicious looking banana cake.
Susan recently posted..Snow and Soup
I have both of those. Reprints, but still good books!
Ramona recently posted..All beagles turn gray
My first two cookbooks were Betty Crocker & Better Homes & Gardens. I don’t own a copy of the McCall’s cookbook. Your cake looks wonderful & I love the thickness of the frosting…the best part!!
Kitty recently posted..Almond Broccoli Casserole
mmmm it sure looks delicious! but the best part is that it only needs one boel, perfect
beti recently posted..Fudge Loaf Cake with Pecans
Oh my goodness! This looks amazing – I sure could polish off a piece of this right now! thanks Cathy
The Café Sucré Farine recently posted..Carne Asada w/ Chorizo Black Beans & Honey-Lime Avocados
The cake looks amazing and delicious. When I got married I got the same BHG red plaid cookbook, still one of my favorites too. It is definitely falling apart, but love it. Thanks for this recipe.
Marilyn recently posted..The Last Hat
How could this be bad with that amazing, thick icing! YUM! So glad your blog is back…I felt the same panic when mine went down!
Liz recently posted..Chicken Stir Fry with Oyster Sauce~
I never thought of weighing the pans for equal layers. Great idea! The cake looks delicious.
Best,
Bonnie
Bonnie recently posted..The Vichyssoise….
My grandmother used to have those books and I think she still does
This is a beautiful cake and I have not enjoyed a banana cake in so long…
Magic of Spice recently posted..What’s on the side? Roasted Root Vegetables with Red Current and Herb Dip
I can’t wait to make this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday! However, I don’t have an electric mixer, do you think I could get by without one?
Thanks!
Jamie
I posted this on Pinterest using your website as the link…I have had 208 repins and 38 Likes as of today. I made a cupcake version of this recipe and it turned out wonderful! Will be making this in September as the full cake version. Just thought I’d let you know how far this recipe is going via Pinterest.
Um. So how did I miss this wonder? I’m shopping for a birthday cake!
kellypea recently posted..Potato Salad with Bacon and Buttermilk Dressing
I just made another banana cake yesterday and it was light and fluffy….wish I have cream cheese to frost my cake too, looks so much more delicious!
Jeannie recently posted..Bake Along #38 – Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake
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