Deluxe Banana Cake

Deluxe Banana Cake: We called it “meatloaf”

As the old saying goes, “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” This lie falls into a different category altogether. It’s a whopper. 

When our grandkids recently came for a weekend visit, Ron looked at me and I looked at him, each thinking the same thought: “Trouble, oh we got trouble, Right here in River City! With a capital “T” and that rhymes with “B” and that stands for Banana Cake!” (with apologies to lyricist Meredith Wilson and The Music Man).

We had only two pieces left of the cake I’d made. And two trusting little girls. And the two of us. It was the single best banana cake I’d ever made. Cutting each piece in half would have made the pieces too small. There was only one thing for Ron and I to do - hide on the deck and wolf down the cake in guilty silence. When the children wandered outside to ask what we were eating, we told them it was meat loaf.

This moist cake is the ideal dessert to take to a potluck picnic on this long weekend: It keeps well, serves a crowd inexpensively, and tastes absolutely sensational. 

Deluxe Banana Cake:

1 c. (250 mL) butter or margarine

2 c. (500 mL) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla extract

1-½ c. (375 mL) mashed banana

3 c.(750 mL) all-purpose flour

2 tsp. (10 mL) baking powder

2 tsp.(10 mL) baking soda

1 c. (250 mL) sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, drained

1 tsp. (5 mL) cinnamon

1 c. (250 mL) brown sugar, divided

1 c. (250 mL) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Have all ingredients at room temperature. In large bowl, beat together butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mashed banana, mixing until smooth.

Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to banana mixture alternately with sour cream, ending with dry ingredients. Spoon and spread half the batter into greased 13x9-in. baking pan. 

Combine cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle 1/2 c. (125 mL) of mixture over batter in pan. Top with 1/2 c. (125 mL) chocolate chips. Repeat layers. Bake 40-to-45 minutes, until skewer inserted at center comes out clean. 

Note: This cake freezes well.