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Saturday, February 9, 2013

Triage

The day Freud's Last Session  closed at the end of January, I had a grand plan to take a cake to strike--the period after the last show where you take down the set and clean the theatre in preparation for the next show moving in.  It's a dusty, often sweaty, process, and I frequently end up covered in paint.  Once when I was painting the stage floor in preparation for the next show to move in, I literally painted myself into the center of the stage.  Handy I am not--but I can bake a cake.

The Cake Slice's pick for last month was a banana cake with coffee-walnut buttercream frosting, which sounded great even though I was a week behind in making it.  I didn't have time to make the marvelous buttercream before I had to leave for the theatre, nor did I have time to frost multiple layers of cake, so I triaged the recipe and threw the coffee and the walnuts into the cake itself and baked it in a bundt pan.  It was so tender, golden and lightly sweet that it was a huge hit at strike. 

Banana-Walnut Bundt Cake
Adapted fron Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson


This was all that remained of the cake after strike.  David
ate it for breakfast the next morning.
 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (it took three for me)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tbsp. strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan by spritzing with nonstick baking spray.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a small bowl, then set aside.  Combine the bananas and butter in another small bowl.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed until the butter becomes light and fluffy--about three minutes with my Kitchen-Aid.  Scrape down the bowl frequently.

Add the eggs one at a time, then turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the bananas.  Scrape the bowl thoroughly and add the walnuts and coffee;  mix until the batter is just combined.

Scrape the mixture into the bundt pan, leveling the top.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool the pan on a wire rack for half an hour, then unmold and cool for a bit longer.

Serves 12 to 16.

31 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds delicious, can't wait to try! Thanks for sharing :)

    Sincerely,
    Happy Valley Chow

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  2. Lovely bundt cake. I can see why only one piece was left. Lucky hubby who ate it for breakfast.:)

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  3. Love the idea of baking it as a bundt! By the way, I have created a Pinterest board to show all of us off!
    http://pinterest.com/yesterfood/my-baking-group-the-cake-slice-bakers/
    ~Joy @ Yesterfood

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  4. I like your style. Baking is not my thing, so the less work the better, and this looks totally delicious!

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  5. It looks yummy! I am glad it was enjoyed! ;) Hugs!

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  6. What a delicious bundt cake my friend, loving the flavours :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  7. It sounds really good. And when there's no time or inclination to frost, I just dust everything with powdered sugar! :)

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  8. Walnuts + coffee WITH cake? Win all the way =)

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  9. Hi Krista...thank you so much for your kind and caring words and condolence. I really appreciate them.

    I absolutely love your delicious coffee cake with the walnuts, bananas, and a hint of coffee. The recipe is awesome, and I'm not surprised it went so fast. I sure would love a slice of it with my morning coffee! Thanks for sharing...it's a 'keeper!'

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  10. What a great choice for a cake! Looks delicious! I'd love a slice of this with my tea in the morning.

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  11. So good! Love the addition of coffe.

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  12. Oh two favorites: bundt and banana :-) Looks delish!

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  13. Beautiful bandt cake! Perfect way to celebrate the end of a period!

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  14. I love your bundt cake!Looks so super moist and delicious!!Banana and coffee makes it even better :)

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  15. Nice combination of flavors. I'm sure everyone loved it!

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  16. That is so smart to turn it into a bundt cake with all the goodness baked inside! It looks wonderful. I don't see how everyone at the strike wouldn't go nuts for it! (no pun intended)

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  17. That's a very beautiful looking banana cake. What a gorgeous bundt tin - it puts such a lovely pattern on the cake xx

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  18. We love banana cakes or bread. This looks moist and beautiful. I love the add of coffee here.

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  19. I just love a woman who thinks on her feet! Actually, after making the cake, I immediately thought, if I made this again, I'd add the walnuts to the cake! Adding the coffee was a stroke of genius, too! I love a good bundt cake! : )

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  20. oh man, i'd devour this whole cake right about now - it just sounds so delicious!

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  21. Love the ease of bundt cakes and I love learning about all the ends and outs of the theater from you. When I read "strike," I thought "Oh NO! Did the actors go on strike?" LOL

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  22. Banana and walnuts, always a great combination! Love this cake with its frosting. Glad to see you back to a blogging rhythm!

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  23. The pics shows that the cake is tender and lovely. Banana and walnut cake is my fav though I dig into desserts once a while.

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  24. Mmmm....I adore Bundt cakes...and they're just as impressive as a layer cake, but so much simpler. Yours looks moist and delicious...love the banana, nut and coffee combo :)

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  25. Great adaptation to a bundt version of the recipe! Might just follow your cue!

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  26. I'm not too handy myself (though I did put in some shelves, without breaking any fingers either)...The bundt looks delicious.

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  27. Hehehee I love the picture of the leftover cake and David is behind! :D I can totally see why he enjoyed this. I love your bundt cake and wish to have a slice with good coffee!

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  28. That's my kind of cake! Earthy and not too fussy. I certainly would have sneaked it home from the theatre for breakfast. Hope you get a wee bit of break now. Until the next show...

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  29. Looks delicious! I can see why it disappeared so fast :)

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  30. Con nueces y plátano estupendo.
    Un saludito

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  31. sounds yummy..i want to try this, very quick and easy!

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