Banana Cinnamon Snacking Cake

Simple, yet satisfying, this banana cinnamon snacking cake is moist and flavorful.  Its simplicity makes this cake a crowd-pleaser, and its versatility makes it work as a delicious snack, part of a breakfast, or even as dessert.  Serve it with a cup of coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit, a glass of milk, or a scoop of ice cream.  Either way, this sweet and spicy cake hits the spot!

Made with basic ingredients that I often have on hand, this banana cinnamon snacking cake is a great thing to make in a pinch, when we are low on groceries and need something easy, filling, and sweet.  It is also a good way to use up a couple of over-ripe bananas.  (And in this hot weather, they get ripe very quickly!)  I adapted this recipe from a really helpful and useful cookbook– Bon Appetit Every -Night Cooking.  I prefer to use sour cream instead of yogurt, for a richer texture, but both work great.

I made this cake just recently, and my family ate it up quickly, mainly as a snack, and a couple of pieces as part of breakfast.  In fact, my daughter had it for breakfast the morning we took her to camp. (Sigh)  She is away at music camp for a few days.  We are missing her greatly, but hope she is having a great experience!  And our son, he is growing so quickly, he is now taller than I am!  (Time stops for no one.)  That’s why having a snacking cake can come in so handy–growing kids need lots of food!

It is officially summer, and it truly feels like summer.  In our yard, the cherries and black raspberries are almost ready for picking, if the birds don’t beat us to them.  I went strawberry-picking up north last week with my mom, daughter, and nieces, and the berries were just gorgeous–juicy and sweet.  We had some really good strawberry shortcake that night!

As it does every summer, our screened-in back porch has become my favorite room in the house, and I love to be out there as often as I can.  I love to eat out there, or sit and listen to the trees in the breeze.  At night, it’s a nice place to watch the fireflies, and last night the moon was so bright, it must have been a full moon.  The porch is the place where I can sit quietly and find my center again.  Life is so busy and full of work, tasks, schedules, comings and goings.  If I take the time to sit quietly and listen to our quaking aspen tree in the wind, I can re-set my mind that sometimes spirals out of control, and feel spiritual peace.  The quaking aspen is not trying to be anything other than itself, and it is bending and swaying so gracefully with the wind.

I am thankful for easy cakes that get me out of having to make a trip to the grocery store.  This banana cinnamon cake is one of those cakes, and if you have a couple of bananas you need to use and some hungry people, give it a try.  It’s delicious!  I hope you have a great weekend, and stay cool!  It’s going to be a hot one! I am taking some of this cake over to Angie’s virtual potluck Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Diann @ Of Goats and Greens.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of sour cream (you can also use plain yogurt if you want a lighter cake)
• 3/4 cup of ripe banana, mashed (about 1 and 1/2 to 2 bananas)
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• powdered sugar for the top of the cake

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch square baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mashed banana, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and stir gently with a spoon until a batter forms and everything is just combined.  Be careful not to over-mix.  Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish.  Bake in your 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the top is light brown and the edges just begin to pull away from the sides of the dish.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar.  Cut  into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.  Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Bon Appetit Every-Night Cooking.