Jamaican Banana Cake

      2 Comments on Jamaican Banana Cake

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(Note: When I originally published this last week, I didn’t realize I somehow deleted the entire narrative portion below the recipe–with all the pictures!  Eek!  Luckily, WordPress saved the revision, so now it’s the CORRECT version.)

There is joy among us!  Why?  Because of this cake.  Let’s start with the important stuff: the recipe.

Jamaican Banana Cake

Adapted from Jamaican Banana Cake by Duncan Hines



Ingredients

  • 1 package Banana Cake Mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 c. vegetable oil
  • 1 1/3 c. water
  • 1/2 c. finely chopped pecans
  • 3/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1/3 c. Brummel & Brown yogurt spread
  • 2 tbsp. milk
  • 1 c. flaked coconut
  • 1/3 c. walnuts

Directions

  1. Preheat 350°F.  Grease and flour a 9×13-inch pan.
  2. Combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl.
  3. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in ½ cup pecans by hand. (Note: the original recipe called for walnuts, which I don’t like, so I subbed pecans. I also don’t like nuts in my cakes or breads [cake shouldn’t crunch], so I chopped them really fine.) Pour into prepared pan.
  4. Bake 33 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  5. Combine brown sugar, Brummel & Brown, milk, and coconut in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted. Evenly spread over warm cake.(Note: the original recipe called for butter-flavored shortening, which I thought sounded yucky, so I used Brummel & Brown yogurt spread.)
  6. Now comes the best part: broil 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.
  7. Cool cake on wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

Serves: 16
Weight Watchers Points: 8 PP  (or, if you cut them small and get 32 little squares, they’re only 4 points)

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For a girl who was never fond of bananas, I sure do have a lot of banana recipes on my blog! This makes banana recipe number 3, as a matter of fact. Go figure! I think that all those free post-race bananas have had an indelible impact on me. 😉
I was asked to make a dessert for my family reunion last weekend, and I had several ripe bananas I wanted to use up. I didn’t want a recipe that was too complicated, though, so I decided to look online for one that would use up a box of banana cake mix I’ve had for a while. What I found was recipes that either used real bananas with yellow cake mix, or just recipes that use banana cake mix. :/ But, being the rebel I am, I decided to mix it up and put a banana in the banana cake. There is just no containing my dissidence. 😉
My boys had just come back from camp the night before I made this, and JJ was excited to hang out with me in the kitchen and help me make this cake. He started by sifting the cake mix (I always sift my boxed cake mixes; a trick I learned in cake decorating class), then breaking eggs (oh, what fun for a nine-year-old!), then measuring the oil (and letting mom clean up the spill), and finally the water. Meanwhile, I mashed up a ripe (but not over-ripe) banana and dumped it in. After that, he put the mixer on the stand and was so excited to turn it on. (He’s never gotten to do that before.) After he mixed up the batter, I poured it in the pan (height has an advantage there), and finally…
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Yep, I even let him put the finished product in the oven. He was so proud of himself!
Once it came out, I let it cool while I put together the “frosting.” Duncan Hines calls it a “topping,” but I think it qualifies as frosting. Butter and sugar? Sure, that’s frosting! 😉 Now, the original recipe called for butter flavor shortening, but…yuck. :/ It just didn’t sound appealing to me. Instead, I substituted my favorite go-to spread: Brummel and Brown. Tastes way better, and is much healthier (it’s made with yogurt). I’m not saying it’s as healthy as say, cucumbers or lettuce, but…well, come on, this is a cake. 😉
I put the brown sugar, B&B, milk, coconut (oh, hello!) and some more finely-chopped pecans in a pot and melted it all. Then I taste-tested it. And then I murmured sweet nothings to the spoon. Holy crap, it was good! But…it got better.
Once I spread it on the warm cake (I was unsure if it would be enough for the 9×13 cake, but it was, even after I ate some directly from the pan), I followed the recipe instructions to place it under the broiler for a few minutes. I was skeptical at first, but after I browned it about 5 minutes (more than the 1-2 minutes the recipe called for, turning often to make it even), I realized what all the fuss was about. Broiling it gave the topping, especially the coconut, a wonderful crunch.
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I know you can’t really experience “crunch” in a picture, but…try. It’s so delightful!!
After I made it, I had to get a few pictures before I took it to the reunion.
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And then, since I’d already cut a piece…I had to enjoy it.
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Let me tell you—that is one damn delicious cake. And once again…I’ve fallen victim to the call of the bananas. If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right! 😉 I will say that adding that extra banana made a big difference in the flavor, and I think I would even add a second one next time. All hail the mighty banana!
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So, a definite success. A good-sized piece (approximately 2.25 x 3.25 inches, as shown in the pictures) is 8 points, but a “snack size” one (half that) is only 4. I cut it in snack-size portions, since there were a lot of people at the reunion, but either way, it was really good and got rave reviews. Especially from me!!
If you make it, let me know what you think. And if you like walnuts, go ahead and use them…but don’t tell me. :p

2 thoughts on “Jamaican Banana Cake

    1. steph Post author

      Thank you!! I love it and would honestly make it every week if my scale would let me, lol! 😉 Thank you very much for stopping by and taking the time to comment!

      Reply

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