The Internet is a funny place, especially the cranny of it into which the food-related sliver is wedged. That sliver is a small, small world. Take last Sunday, for example.
As far as weekends go, it was a swell one, and it was drawing to a peaceful close. There had been a little rain and too much work, but there was also a lovely dinner at home, an even better dinner out, a warm-ish walk with the dog, a sun-bathed omelet on Sunday morning, a million errands accomplished and … well, you get the picture.
I had a pot of soup quietly bubbling on the stove, as it so often does on Sunday afternoons. There was magic happening in the oven, too. Or at least it sure smelled like magic—that cinnamon-spiked scent of baked goods plumped with banana. This banana cake also happened to be studded with chunks of dark chocolate and toasted walnuts. I had a hunch it would be delicious and, frankly, couldn’t wait for the oven timer to ding. Cleaning up my accumulated emails I came across a recipe Lynn had sent me, and I kid you not, the recipe she sent just happened to be the same one I had in the oven. Funny how that happens. The recipe is below. Enjoy!
banana cake with dark chocolate and walnuts
from gourmet, february 2008
serves 8-10
Ingredients
■2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
■1 tsp baking soda
■1/2 tsp salt
■1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tbsp, melted and cooled
■1 cup sugar, divided
■2 large eggs
■1-1/4 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
■2/3 cup fat-free, vanilla, greek yogurt
■1 tsp vanilla extract
■1 (3-1/2 to 4-ounce) bar bittersweet chocolate, or 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
■1 cup walnuts, toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped
■1/2 tsp cinnamon
Method
1.Preheat oven to 375* with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan.
2.Stir together flour, baking soda and salt.
3.Beat together softened butter (1 stick) and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until blended. Beat in bananas, yogurt and vanilla (mixture will look curdled).
4.With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture and blend until just incorporated.
5.Toss together chocolate, nuts, cinnamon, melted butter and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Spread half of banana batter in cake pan and sprinkle with half of chocolate mixture. Spread remaining batter evenly over filling and sprinkle remaining chocolate mixture on top.
6.Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool cake completely before cutting.
