Decadent Banana Cake – Getting ready for the weekend

For the past 5 days my Internet has been down. I’m sitting in a Starbucks so I can have access to free wireless Internet. How has it become that we’re such addicts to our connection? Without Internet, I’ve been stuck, not able to post any new recipe on my blog. Trust me, it’s been tough… But it doesn’t mean I’ve been doing nothing at home. Cooking never stops. With 3 meals a day to prepare, it’s hard to forget the importance of food.

So a couple of days ago, to finish off the Holidays with a bang, we had a couple of friends over for dinner… mostly guys with BIG appetites. I believe I fed them well, catering to their need of stuffing themselves on heavy food. But once we got to desert, it was like I had fed them nothing but air; their appetites were still enormous and they wanted more. Luckily, I had made some serious desert. An amazing and decadent Banana Cake, layered with nuts and chocolate. Little did they know that I had made this desert because I had to get rid of a few bananas, which were getting old on my counter!

If you’re ever in the same situation and you’ve got some pretty old looking bananas, try this cake. It’s easy and it’s goooooooood!!! And if you’re really feeling decadent (or simply are looking to get a sugar buzz), add some vanilla ice cream to your servings…

DECADENT BANANA, NUT AND CHOCOLATE CAKE

Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 bananas, sliced

1/3 cup almonds, coarsely chopped (or walnuts)

1/3 cup chocolate chips or disks

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup milk

1 ¼ cups sugar

4 bananas, mashed

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C)

In a large bowl, combine half the butter and the brown sugar. Spread this mixture into an 8-inch Bundt pan* or a deep cake pan. Place the banana slices at the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the almonds. Sprinkle with the chocolate. Set aside.

In a bowl, blend the eggs, vanilla and milk. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream the remaining butter with the sugar. Add the mashed bananas and dry ingredients alternately with the milk mixture.

Pour into the pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool, flip and unmold.