(Original Photoshop Art by FB. Please contact here for prints.)
THE SCENE
I had a bunch of overripe bananas that tasted a bit flavourless and not sweet enough for raw consumption.
EXHIBIT A
So to get rid of them, I decided to make banana cakes 
Most people think of banana BREAD, but I’ve never liked how dry it is.
I prefer moist, gooey, miiiam miiiam sorts of cakes.
I had a couple of recipes, but they called for yoghurt, sour cream or more butter — none of which I had in my home.
Hence, the MacGyvering.
TA DA!
Original shot of the star cake:
Please, no flash photography.
Ingredients
With my notes in red
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter — I had 1/4 cup of butter (literally), so I substituted in some oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed — I put in 5. They were kind of small.
- 2/3 cup buttermilk — Didn’t have butter milk, so I just used 2% milk.
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts — Omitted completely. I love walnuts, but we don’t stock ‘em.
Note regarding usage of vegetable oil to make up the difference for butter:
This was totally experimental.
I figured it couldn’t turn out SO BAD that I’d have to toss it without forcing it down my gullet.
Chowhounds said the following about using oil instead of butter…..
No, it doesn’t work well, in general. They’re a different percent fat; butter being part water. It affects the texture with one being solid and having different properties.
Depends what kind of cake. Often the butter and sugar are beaten together to incorporate air, thus making the cake lighter. This cannot be done with oil. A loaf style cake will often use oil.
I have done this sucessfully when the amount was small – less than a half a cup. I just melted that butter and used an equal amount to the oil. I can’t say how it would work in something that called for a larger amount. Most of my recipes call for butter anyway.
Since it was a loaf style cake, and less than half a cup, I figured I’d give it a shot.
If it didn’t work out, I’d just redo it again in the future, this time with the right amount of butter.
Also, I chose veggie oil because it doesn’t have a strong flavour like olive or sesame oil.
Yummy batter shot below:
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Grease and flour 2 – 8 inch round pans.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter (+ oil in my case), white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time.
- Mix in the bananas.
- Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture.
- Stir in chopped walnuts.
- Pour batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, and place on a damp tea towel to cool.
Nutritional Info
Calories: 346 | Total Fat: 12.2g | Cholesterol: 56mg
But what the heck is a serving? Like one loaf? 
Verdict
YUMMYYYYYYYYY!
(The shot of the cutest looking cake of the 2)
And shot of the super moist inside.
BF’s Verdict: YUM!
He ate one whole loaf in one sitting, with one glass of milk.
Couldn’t stop slicing off another piece.
Then another.
Then another.
And it was all gone.
I stood there grinning with happiness, mentally patting myself on the back.
Second cake ever baked in my life.. ACCOMPLISHED! *punches fist in the air*
As a funny side story…
Took me an HOUR to bake those cakes and it said 30 minutes!!
I was there, freaking out:
“Why isn’t it baked.. why isn’t it baked?
OMG should I just eat the raw batter pudding?
Like ALL OF IT?
2 whole raw loaves?
And never tell BF what happened this afternoon??
But what if he smells the banana cake when he gets home?
He’ll want to know what’s up with the smell of baking banana cake….
And where all the bananas are.
And why I’m holding my stomach groaning….
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH BAKE DAMN YOU!!!
DON’T MAKE ME EAT YOU RAW!!!!!”
35 minutes above and beyond the 30 minutes, baked perfectly. 
I told BF the story sheepishly and here’s what I learned:
Turns out, my oven is wonky and I should turn it up by 20-30 degrees above what the recipe calls for.
*sigh*
- Recipe: Vanilla Almond Pound Cake
- Homemade Pita Bread and Hummus
- Does eating out make it taste better?
- A New Year is not a New Year without a little Dessert
- Lazy Asian Glazed Chicken & Mashed Creamy Taters
That Kind of Girl
on Nov 26th, 2009
@ 1:16 PM:
Whoa, look at you, making substitutions and stuff on your second-ever cake! You're rapidly molding yourself into baking elite status!
Cake looks absolutely to-die-for! Also, I don't know if this is something you keep around the house, but whenever I'm making banana-based baked treats, I like to substitute about half of the butter with applesauce. It's another nice alternative!
Shenanigans
on Nov 26th, 2009
@ 10:01 AM:
I never use butter/oil when I make banana bread, I always replace it with an equal amount of applesauce. It makes it extra moist and reduces the calories, too!
Kate
on Nov 26th, 2009
@ 3:21 PM:
Replacing butter with oil isn't such a big deal- kosher cooks do it all the time!
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Nov 26th, 2009
@ 12:57 PM:
APPLESAUCE! That is brilliant!!!
Emma
on Nov 26th, 2009
@ 6:33 PM:
Looks yummy!
My banana bread recipe (which is more moist than that pound cake recipe we tried) uses oil, not butter.
I also like to add chocolate chips, cinnamon, and use all brown sugar instead of white sugar. I have also been known to add a crumble on top for it's baking (with flour, butter, rolled oats, and brown sugar).
Last Born Child
on Nov 26th, 2009
@ 6:53 PM:
Looks great. Very impressive fir a second attempt at baking.
I might have to steal your recipe. My gran substitues butter with half a measure of buttermilk and half a measure of coconut oil – it works, but only if you like coconut.
saltlakecity
on Nov 26th, 2009
@ 10:00 PM:
lol. u r so cute. i just found out about your blog a few days ago while surfing the net. like you – i'm into personal finance too
keep up the great work! 
Rina
on Nov 27th, 2009
@ 12:01 AM:
I agree, try applesauce. Although I've never had a problem subbing a bit of oil for the butter. Looks fantastic!
Lara
on Nov 27th, 2009
@ 7:32 AM:
Those cakes look good. Banana muffins are one of my favourite things to make, either with walnuts or swirls of strawberry jam. They also work just fine with oil instead of butter, makes them nice and moist. Though I personally think you just can't beat the taste of butter in baked goods. It's so seductive.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Nov 27th, 2009
@ 7:30 AM:
I was hoping to use all butter but ran out.
I prefer the taste of butter over oil 
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Nov 27th, 2009
@ 7:31 AM:
That is really intriguing, that applesauce. Does it work for all cakes? And what’s the ratio of substitution?
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Nov 27th, 2009
@ 7:31 AM:
I do love coconut. But I didn’t have coconut or buttermilk
The sub sounds interesting.. I’d like to experiment a bit to see if I can get the oil/fat content down without losing moistness and taste
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Nov 27th, 2009
@ 7:32 AM:
I used brown sugar in this, mixed with white sugar. The molasses really adds a nice flavour!
Good call on the cinnamon. I don’t really enjoy mixing chocolate with banana in a cake, but the cinnamon could be a good touch
Mmmmm crumble.
QL girl
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 4:48 PM:
FYI, the time problem might also be because you used loaf pans and not the 8" rounds per the recipe. I recently made a similar recipe (vegan pumpkin cake, no butter, only oil, on Joy the Baker! SO GOOD!) and only had one loaf pan so I made one loaf and 2 rounds. The rounds took 25-30 minutes while the loaf took 1 hour. They came out equally delicious!
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 2:14 PM:
Good call!
I didn’t have 8″ rounds… so I just made do with what I had. Still didn’t turn out too bad. I mean, it was close to burning on the outside, but it gave it a nice brulee flavour and a delicious crisp
Mmmmm!
Lizzie
on Dec 1st, 2009
@ 5:15 PM:
mmmm:)
I replace oil with plain yougurt. Applesauce works, but plain yougurt has a better texture in baked goods.
Also, you can add 1 Tb vinegar per cup of milk to make "buttermilk"
Administrative Stuff: The Winners of the Allersacs & Carnivals « Fabulously Broke in the City
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 5:02 PM:
[...] Make it from Scratch: Carnival #144 where I submitted: McGuyvering a Banana Cake [...]