This recipe is for those times when you miscalculate the amount of sour cream you need, end up buying a ginormous 3 pound tub, use only an eighth of it and then scramble for ways to finish it all up. But this loaf is so good, so damp and toothsome without being at all gummy and leaden, that a splash pool sized tub of sour cream will always be on your shopping list.
It goes without saying that the bananas must be thickly mottled with mahogany specks and scars for the deepest, most intense banana flavor to shine through in the finished cake.
Ingredients
170g/ 1.5 sticks butter
209g/ 1C sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t salt
240g/ 1C sour cream
216g peeled banana chunks (2 large bananas)
278g/ 2 1/4C flour
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9x5 inch rectangle loaf tin with a strip of parchment paper on the bottom and set aside.
Place the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a stand mixer and beat on medium speed till butter is pale and fluffy. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula often.
Add the eggs, one a time, beating for a full 2 minutes after each addition.
Meanwhile, place the sour cream and banana in a deep bowl and blend till smooth using a hand held immersion blender. You can also use a food processor.
Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl and set aside.
When the eggs are fully incorporated into the butter mixture, add a third of the flour and mix on low till just combined.
Spoon in half the sour cream-banana mixture and mix on low for a minute. Add another third of the flour, mix on low, follow with the remaining sour cream mixture and paddle on low till just combined. Add the remaining flour and beat on low speed just till all the flour is combined and no large visible dry streaks remain. Remove the paddle attachment and use your spatula to fold the batter a couple times.
Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and bake till golden brown on top and the cake is set. This takes about 30-35 minutes.
Book: Secrets of Baking / Sherry Yard
