I was going through some of my old cringe-worthy posts the other day. I realised while they are super awful to look at the recipes are good. One in particular that I love and make often is a very simple but extremely tasty banana cake. The original recipe was my Nan’s and while she always served it with lemon icing, as the original post shows. I decided this time to adorn it with an easy lemon frosting. I know it sounds strange but lemon and banana go so well together. So let’s take a closer look at this reposted Grandmas Old Fashioned Simple Banana Cake recipe version 2.0
Reboot V – 2.0
The original recipe and post can be found here, under My Nan’s Banana Cake. I took the photo’s at night on my old iPhone 3… Ahhhhh lol I know, but hey we all had to start somewhere 😉 Not that the photography has become fantastic and amazing but I think its definitely improved somewhat.
Quick & Easy.
As the title suggests this is a simple cake to put together. There are no strange ingredients in this cake just pantry staples. First, butter and sugar are creamed together. Eggs & vanilla is added along with flour, baking powder a pinch of salt and of course mashed banana. These ingredients give you a tender, sweet cake packed full of banana flavour.
As it stands the cake is a great snack cake, perfect for lunch boxes and an afternoon pick-me-up. Add the frosting to take it to the next level.
Lemon frosting.
Yep, you read that right, lemon and banana work so well together, the tart lemon cuts right through the sweetness of the banana. My Nan always topped this cake with a very basic lemon icing and I love it that way but I was in the mood for something a little more when I remade this cake. So I made a super simple lemon frosting of butter, icing sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice to top this version of my Grandmas old fashioned simple banana cake.
Because this cake is so quick to make, it really is a family favourite for us. Well me really, because I am completely bananas over bananas………. I have more banana recipes on this blog than anything else. Hey its a fruit so it must make all these cakes healthy 😀 right?
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Grandmas Old Fashioned Simple Banana Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 125 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon)
- 250 grams sugar (1 and 1/4 cups)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 250 grams plain / all purpose flour (2 cups)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 ripe medium sized bananas - mashed
Frosting
- 100 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
- 250 grams icing sugar (2 cups)
- Zest 1 lemon
- Juice 1 lemon
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4 and lightly grease & line a 9x9 inch square tin and place to one side.
- Beat the butter till it is light and fluffy then add in the sugar and beat for a few more minutes until it is well incorporated.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and again mix until well incorporated.
- Pour in half of the flour, the baking powder and salt and mix.
- Add in the mashed banana and mix until just combined.
- Pour in the remaining flour and beat until everything is mixed together.
- Scoop the batter into your prepared tin and place in your hot oven for 40-45 minutes.
- Test the cake for doneness by inserting a pick into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean then the cake is baked. If not then bake for a few minutes longer and test again.
- If you feel your cake is browning too much then cover with a bit of tin foil and continue to bake until the cake is fully baked.
- Take it out of the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes in its tin before transferring it to a wire rack to fully cool down.
Frosting
- Once the cake is fully cooled down its time to make the frosting.
- Beat the butter until it is very pale. Add in the icing sugar and beat until everything is soft, pale and fluffy.
- Zest your lemon into the frosting and then juice it. Mix this into the frosting and spread it evenly over your cake.
- Kept in an airtight container at room temperature this cake will last 5 days.
- Unfrosted this cake freezes well for 3 months.
Notes
Something else to read:
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I don’t really bake but I love banana cakes. I usually have one of my friends bake for me but with the simple way you’ve talked about this banana cake and the simple recipe coupled with the clear method to follow. I’m challenging myself to finally bake a cake and what better way than a banana cake.
Thank you
I’m sure you will smash it Frida 😀
Amazing, it looks creamy, moist, sweet and delicious… I just see myself eating a big piece of that banana cake with a steaming cup of tea reading a book 🙂
Thank you, it really is one of my favourite all time cakes and goes wonderfully with a cup of tea.
I love banana cake, it is such a classic recipe. I have never tried lemon icing on it before but it is an amazing idea. Definitely making it this way the next time I bake a banana cake.
Thanks Ashika, banana and lemon my sound odd but they really do go so well together.
i cringe when i look at my old posts too! however, they’re the recipes i seem to make most often and love best (which is why they came first!) so i like the idea of going back through and taking new pictures! this cake sounds awesome, especially with that frosting!
Thanks Grace, its the same for me. The old ones are favourites that I make all the time, as much as I love them I just don’t have the time to revisit each and every one of my old posts and reshoot them. But one every now and again is kinda fun!
So simple and so beautiful. You can never go wrong with a classic.
Thank you Caroline 😀
Banana cake is a wonderful & delicious treat – have not tried it with lemon frosting before. What a lovely idea! I recently thought to go through some of my old posts – maybe a task for the weekend 🙂
Miriam xx
Thank you Miriam, going through old posts is fun and daunting all at the same time. I have had to accept I just don’t have the time to re-do all of them, it would take forever!
I think we all have quite a few photos that we can’t stand to look at these days! Recipes are good, but not the photos. Anyway, glad you rebooted this one — super recipe. Good photos, too. 🙂
Thanks John, it does us good to do a little reflection now and again and see how far we have come 😀
i think most bloggers have some cringe-worthy posts in their pocket (; i like seeing them though; it’s always so gratifying to see the progress! wouldn’t have thought to pair lemon and banana, but like you mentioned, the lemon would add a bit of refreshing tang to everything, so i can’t imagine that this would be anything less than delicious (:
Thank you Heather, the old posts do make me smile and it is good to see the progress!
Bananas are one of my favorites too :). I love a good banana cake but I usually top it with peanut butter frosting. I’ll have to try your lemon version next time! So good!
Oh I like the idea of a peanut butter frosting 😀
I have hundreds of cringe worthy photos/blog posts and I’m doing a bit of the same. This lovey banana cake was worth sharing again!!
All bloggers have these cringe worthy old posts, but I guess its good to look back and have a bit of a giggle and a smile, after all we all need to start somewhere 😀
I like that thick blanket of frosting. It’s my favourite part! 😀
Mine too Lorraine 😉
I love banana bread or cake! This looks esp. tempting with that thick layer of frosting!
Thank you Angie 🙂