Old-Fashioned Banana Cake

     It's time for another family favorite! This banana cake is another one of the very first things my mom  and grandma taught me to bake. When I was little, I remember that my mom would never throw away overripe bananas because she wanted to save them for this recipe, and by the time she got to making it, we had collected so many that she had to quadruple the recipe. So there were days when I'd eat this cake first as breakfast and then as a dessert after every other meal. The classic version of it is baked in a 13x9 pan and simply sprinkled with powdered sugar on top, but over the years, I've added my own spins to it. First of all, I switched out the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt. Also, you could add in extra things like chopped nuts. Sometimes, I bake this as a rectangular cake, but sometimes I bake it as banana bread in loaf pans or split it into 2 round 8inch pans and build a double-decker with this cream cheese frosting. Today, I decided to bake it in round tart pans to get a fancy edge.

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
pinch of salt
powdered sugar for the top

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 and grease and flour your pan(s).
2. Use an electric mixer to blend the butter and sugar. Then add the eggs, yogurt, bananas, and vanilla.
3. Mix in the baking soda and salt, then gradually add the flour and beat until smooth.

4. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. The baking time can vary greatly depending on the size and shape of pan you use. A 13x9 takes about 40 minutes. Watch it closely because the top browns quickly but the middle takes more time.
5. Let the cake cool before frosting or sprinkling with powdered sugar.

This one really is a favorite of friends and family. Enjoy, and next up is something chocolaty!