Banana Nut Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Icing
Banana bread was one of the first things I learned to bake and it’s stayed a staple in my house. But every time I make it my boyfriend jokes that it needs icing. Well, Mario, this one’s for you (;
While he is wrong and banana bread (especially my grandma’s!) does not need icing, I have to admit this turned out pretty dang tasty! I took my favorite banana bread recipe and made a few tweaks to turn it into a super moist sheet cake and topped it with a crazy delicious brown butter icing.
What you’ll need for the cake:
– 3 ripe bananas, mashed
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 1/2 cup light tasting oil
– 2 teaspoons vanilla
– 2 eggs
– 2 cups flour (10 oz)
-1 Tablespoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon salt
– 1/4 cup milk
– 1 cup pecans
What you’ll need for the icing:
– 1 cup butter
– 2 Tablespoon brown sugar
– 3 cups powdered sugar (12 oz)
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
What you’ll do:
– Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 baking sheet
– Cream together bananas, sugar, oil, and vanilla
– Add eggs one at a time, making sure they are fully incorporated
– Combine dry ingredients and stir in about half (no need to full mix here)
– Add in your milk, then stir in the remaining flour
– Add in your pecans, being careful not to over mix
– Poor into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes
– While your sheet cake is cooling, begin your icing by melting the butter in a medium size pan over medium high heat
– Once the butter is melted, stir continuously until it is brown and fragrant
– Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the brown sugar until dissolved
– Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until fully combined
– Once your sheet cake is room temperature, ice your cake and ENJOY!
A few notes:
– I always store my ripe bananas (still in the peel) in the freezer. They will fully brown and sweeten up to perfection.
– If your icing runny when you first make it, it’s likely because it’s still pretty warm. Give it some time to cool down and firm up and you should be ready to ice!
