Classic Banana Bundt Cake - Tuesdays with Dorie

Whoo hoo!! It's my turn to pick a recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie! Awesomeness in a blogger-nerdy-baker happiness sort of way. Know what I mean?!

As you may know, I'm a huge Bundt fan. Huge. I think I've made over 10 Bundts on this blog. The American-made Nordic Ware Bundt was trademarked in 1950 and is, in my book, an engineering marvel!

Although some people just don't understand this, I love cake but don't care for frosting. And the Bundt? It's perfect. Even if you put a thick glaze on it, the ratio of cake to frosting is just right. And sometimes, it doesn't need any frosting or glaze at all. Yes, the Bundt rocks. Big time. Let's all just take moment to salute the awesomeness of the Bundt. Thanks.

This recipe, on page 190 of Dorie Greenspan's book: Baking: From My Home to Yours is from her friend Ellen Einstein who owns Sweet Sixteenth Bakery in Nashville.

And you know what? Holy smokes!! This is delicious!

I made mine with sour cream, but you can also use plain yogurt. Dorie suggests a lemon glaze but I skipped that in favor of a simple dusting of powdered sugar. I'm sure chocolate chips and walnuts would be nice additions too.

Nordic Ware says there are 60 million Bundt pans in America. We need to get everyone to make this cake!

Thank you everyone for baking along with me this week! I'm excited to see how you liked it and your variations. And if you couldn't make it this time, I hope you try it out in the future. It's such a pleasure to be part of this group! Bake on TWDers! :) - mary the food librarian

Classic Banana Bundt Cake
Page 190, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients: Makes 1 Bundt Cake (14 servings)

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. (If you use a silicone Bundt 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 in. 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 to 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've got the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving - it's 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.

Half batch or muffins:
If you want 1/2 the recipe and make muffins, Dorie Greenspan wrote it up herself on this 2008 entry on Serious Eats: Banana Cake Big and Small. She added some chocolate to this one. Yield 12 muffins, bake 28-32 minutes