If you love dense, moist, flavorful cakes, this one’s for you! Because it’s chock-full of bananas (I used 5 large bananas, total), you can serve it with a glass of milk and call it breakfast!
Cake
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 T. cinnamon
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 ½ cups chopped bananas
Banana Glaze
3 T. butter, softened
½ banana, mashed
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease/spray a 9” x 13” baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, soda, salt, sugar and cinnamon. With a fork or spoon, stir in the eggs and oil, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the vanilla, pineapple, pecans, and bananas. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the center of the cake is firm and a toothpick comes out clean. Gently pierce the cake surface with a fork in several places. When the cake is nearly done, combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and mix until smooth. (I was glad I had a hand mixer for this part.) Frost the cake while hot from the oven, spreading the glaze that flows toward the edges back onto the center so it will soak in. Cool completely. Freezes well.
Kitchen Hits: When I had chopped the bananas into a measuring cup, I mashed them a bit with a fork so they would incorporate into the batter. Totally mashing them would work fine, as well.
If a regular fork is tearing up the hot cake surface, try using a meat fork.
“Hubbard writes Amish stories with style and grace.” —RT Book Reviews
It’s a better life, a fresh start–and a heaven-sent second chance. Founded by three Amish sisters determined to put misfortune behind them, Promise Lodge is a colony where faith’s abiding promise can be fulfilled–and love can make all things new…
Energetic widow Mattie Bender Schwartz is working day and night to get Promise Lodge going. She’s also hoping the change will help her son Noah’s heart to heal after his broken engagement. But his former fiancée, Deborah, is looking for a fresh start too. Filled with regret, and cast out by her dat for a reason she can’t yet reveal, Deborah can only pray Noah will forgive her foolishness.
Deborah is the last person Noah expected to show up at Promise Lodge. But with her cruel words still ringing in his head, he’s reluctant to accept her apology–even if the Old Order ways demand he try. If only he could obey Christ’s most important commandment: love one another. But one thing is certain–his mother and aunts, and their beloved Preacher Amos, will do their best to help him get there.
Praise for Charlotte Hubbard’s Seasons of the Heart series
“Another great book centered around the Sweet Seasons Café.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
“These very special books will sit proudly on my keeper shelf!” —Romance Reviews Today