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Glazed banana bundt cake on w white plate and surface. Banana slices, bowl with glaze. Top view.

Banana Bread Bundt Cake (with buttermilk)

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5 from 13 reviews

A fantastic, flavorful banana cake recipe with buttermilk. It has an extremely moist, dense crumb and is topped with a cream cheese glaze, chopped pecans, and fresh banana slices. It's like the best banana bread meets a perfect pound cake. We also added an optional chocolate bourbon glaze. 

  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

Units

For the cake:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose or cake flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk (see below for substitutions)
  • 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 very ripe medium-sized bananas)

For the glaze:

  • 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2-3 tablespoons cream or milk
  • 1 cup powdered sugar (this is an estimate, as you should add until it's as thick or thin as you want)

For the chocolate bourbon glaze (bonus):

  • 1/3 cup cream (heavy or double)
  • 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup or golden syrup
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon

Instructions

For the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350º F/ 180º C.
  2. Grease (use shortening not butter) and flour a 10-cup capacity or large 12-cup Bundt pan. 
  3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer. 
  5. Add sugar gradually, beating for 2 more minutes until light.
  6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and beating an additional 1 minute after the last one is incorporated.
  7. Add vanilla extract and mix.
  8. Add dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 parts. That means you start and end with dry ingredients.
  9. Add the mashed bananas and mix just until no streaks of flour remain.
  10. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle rack for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Time might differ depending on the oven and pan used. 
  11. Cool in a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes, carefully invert onto a plate, invert it again onto the wire rack and let cool completely. If the cake at first resists, shake the pan up and down carefully or let it cool down a little more, and try again. 
  12. Let cool completely, glaze and let it dry before you cut it into individual slices. 
  13. Store leftover cake for a day at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap and then refrigerate or freeze.

For the glaze:

  1. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a medium bowl until creamy and no lumps remain.
  2. Add powdered sugar and milk or cream and integrate well until very smooth. The amount of sugar depends on how thin or thick you want the glaze to be. 
  3. Drizzle over the cooled cake that has been put on a wire rack with a parchment paper underneath to catch any drips. Let it run down the sides and center of the cake. 

For the chocolate bourbon glaze:

  1. Chop chocolate and put, together with cream, in a glass or stainless steel bowl over boiling water (bottom of bowl doesn't have to touch the water). When the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth remove from the heat.
  2. Immediately add butter and corn or golden syrup and mix well.
  3. Add the bourbon, mix until completely incorporated, and let reach a thick consistency before drizzling on top of the cooled cake.

Notes

  • Homemade Buttermilk: mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (my favorite) or 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. You can also use 1 tablespoon of yogurt. Or substitute only milk in this recipe if that's all you have
  • Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
  • Pan: make sure the bundt cake pan is correctly prepared and the right size. 
  • Cooling down: always use a wire rack (a.k.a cooling rack) to cool down cakes, especially bundt cakes that are dense like this one. If you don't have one, put the pan on top of something that allows the air to flow below the pan. I sometimes place them on the stovetop (turned off!) because the burners allow that.
  • Bananas: use very ripe bananas. They should be soft, with brown spots and mushy. You know, those you don't want to eat. They have the best and sweetest flavor. 
  • Serving it: I highly recommend room-temperature cakes unless they have whipped cream. The flavors are somewhat numbed when they are cold.
  • Storing it: after a day at room temperature (at the most), cover it well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several days. Or freeze for up to a month. Though it hardly makes it to the next day in my house. 
  • Author: Paula Montenegro
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cooling time: 60 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Cakes
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Find it online: https://vintagekitchennotes.com/banana-bundt-cake-bourbon-chocolate-glaze/