How to Make Banana Birthday Cakes

A banana cake is a fun twist to the traditional birthday-party dessert, which is often served in vanilla or chocolate. Bananas add a fun flavor and a bit of variety to a birthday cake while being nutritious, thus providing a healthier alternative to traditional cakes. Bananas are good sources of potassium, which helps the body's cells function. Banana is a popular flavor with many children, so a banana cake can be served at birthday celebrations for people of all ages.

Things You'll Need

• 2½ cups flour
• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• Pinch salt
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 mashed bananas
• ..." cup buttermilk
• Two bowls
• Three spoons
• One 11 x 7-inch cake pan
• Butter, cooking spray or shortening
• Cooling rack
• One can of icing
• Icing knife
• Birthday candles
• Decorative icing with screw-on tips
• Knife

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

3. Mix both sugars and the butter in another bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk and bananas. Mix well.

4. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Mix everything together well.

5. Use cooking spray, butter or shortening to grease the cake pan. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Stick a knife in the middle of the cake and lift it straight out. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done. If the cake is not yet done, put it back in the oven for five more minutes and then test doneness again with the knife. Repeat until the cake is done.

7. Remove the cake from the oven. Flip the cake pan over on a cooling rack to remove the cake from the pan. Let the cake cool.

8. Frost the cake with a knife, then screw a decorating tip onto the decorative icing tube and write a birthday message on the cake. Add birthday candles.

Tips & Warnings

• Run the knife under warm water to smooth the icing.

• Pour the cake mix into a banana-shaped pan or monkey-shaped pan for added fun.

• Use the ripest bananas possible for a stronger flavor. A ripe banana will be mushy, with brown spots on the peel.

• Refrigerate leftover banana cake after a few hours to prevent molding.

References

• AllRecipes: A-Number-1 Banana Cake
• American Heart Association: Potassium