Banana Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Who among us hasn't watched a few bananas discolor on the kitchen counter and turn dark brown before we could eat them? It happens to me all the time and I usually throw the bananas in the freezer whole, wrapped up a plastic bag. When I want to bake with them, I just thaw them and peel them. I typically use the nearly rotted bananas for banana "bread" or smoothies, but decided yesterday to make a banana cake recipe I found online, at a website called Grumpy's Honey Bunch. I got off to a rough start, though, as I was about to place the pan in the oven. I was using a spatula to wipe the bowl, and a bit got on my hands, which I licked. I realized immediately that the batter had no sweetness, because I had forgotten to add the sugar. I dumped the mixture back into a bowl, added the sugar, buttered another pan, and prayed that it would all turn out alright.

It emerged from the oven looking just fine, so I proceeded to make the frosting. If you prefer just a dusting of powdered sugar, that works too. 

But this browned butter frosting with maple syrup is so delicious, I highly recommend you make it. I topped it with some candied pecans I had made last week, but just toasted pecans would be fine too.

The earlier snafu didn't seem to affect the taste or texture of the cake. It was so tender and delicious, I could have eaten half of the pan. The bulk of this went to a neighbor, but I kept a few pieces for my dessert-loving husband (and me too). It serves a lot of people, so make sure you've got a crowd coming. It's sure to be a hit.

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Banana Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

recipe from Honey Bee's Kitchen (with a couple of minor adjustments)

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2¼ cups flour
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but you don't need that much. I might even reduce it to 1 cup next time)
• ½ tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 medium bananas , mashed
• ¾ cup buttermilk (I almost never have it on hand, so I just squeeze some lemon into regular milk and wait for ten minutes or so for it to "curdle."
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup unsalted butter melted

For the Browned Butter Maple Frosting

• 2½ cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoon butter browned
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2½ tablespoon half and half (I used milk)

Instructions:

For the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk to the mashed bananas.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and mix with a hand mixer on medium speed until well blended.
5. Pour in a 9x13 glass baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

For The Frosting

1. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, cook the butter until bubbly and the solids begin to brown.
2. Pour the melted butter over 2 cups of confectioners' sugar. Add the maple syrup and the 2 tablespoons half and half (or milk).
3. Adjust with remaining sugar and half and half (or milk) as needed to make frosting of a spreadable consistency.
4. Frost the cooled cake and garnish with toasted whole pecans (if using - I used candied pecans).