Banana Bundt Cake, Dorie Style

Watching the bunch of banana's Chad picked up from the grocery turn from a nice bright yellow, to a brownish black I decided it was time to either toss 'em or bake with 'em.

I wanted to do something different than just a plain old banana bread. And I didn't want to do muffins. So I started to search through the foodie blogosphere and decided on this Dorie Greenspan recipe from The Biscuit Pusher's blog (thanks!)

I was excited to use this recipe because it meant I was able to use the bundt pan that I bought, oh, 5 months ago. The pan was dirt cheap at Marshall's and although I didn't need one, how could I turn down a $4 peice of baking equipment? Plus, it is the cutest thing, and I just wanted it.

The cake came out omg, moist. So much better than I imagined! I decided to add finely chopped pecans to mine as well as an orange glaze. The cake on it's own was fabulous, but I liked the tanginess of the orange glaze, and the crunch of the pecans. It's going to be tricky keeping away from this cake before bed.

Banana Bundt Cake

(from Dorie Greenspan "From My Home to Yours" via The Biscuit Pusher)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter at room temp

2 cups sugar

2 tsps pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, preferably at room temp

About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups)

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350.

Generously butter a 9 to 10 inch (12-cup) Bundt pan. 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 (the mixture will curdle -- just keep mixing), 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 de-bubble 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 on the rack to cool to room temp.If you have the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving -- it's better the second day.

For the Glaze:

1 1/2 C. powder sugar

1 Tbs. melted butter

1 Tbs. milk

2-3 Tbs. fresh squeezed orange juice

Whisk ingredients together until smooth and using a spoon drizzle over cooled cake.