Banana Coconut Cake with Buttercream Frosting
Tea party cake I make for my little sister and her friends. Pinkie up!
Tea party cake I make for my little sister and her friends. Pinkie up!
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup ripe bananas mashed
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cups shortening
- 1/2 cup nuts chopped (optional)
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk cold
- Carbohydrate 35.4703055685174 g
- Cholesterol 60.1581121199231 mg
- Fat 27.6896165894984 g
- Fiber 2.53788748173542 g
- Protein 5.69244865659645 g
- Saturated Fat 12.9131990527971 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (152g)
- Sodium 6195.09239068256 mg
- Sugar 32.932418086782 g
- Trans Fat 1.54363326635701 g
- Calories 405 calories
Step-by-step
- In a bowl, cream 3/4 cup shortening and 1 and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add 2 eggs; beat for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup mashed ripe bananas and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; beat for 2 minutes.
- Combine dry ingredients (2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt); add to creamed mixture alternately with 1/2 cup buttermilk. Mix well. Stir in nuts if desired. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Sprinkle each with coconut. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cake tests done; loosely cover with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking. Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack, coconut side up.
- Butter Cream Frosting Directions In a bowl, cream 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 cup butter. Add remaining frosting ingredients (2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup cold evaporated milk) Mix on low until combined; beat on high for 5 minutes. Place one cake layer, coconut side down, on a cake plate; spread with some of the frosting. Top with second layer, coconut side up; frost sides and 1 in. around top edge of cake, leaving coconut center showing.
The Danger of Overmixing the Batter
Bakers frequently ruin the crumb structure of fruit-forward cakes by treating the mixing phase as an afterthought rather than a critical chemical stage requiring precise gluten management. When combining the dry ingredients with the creamed fat, sugar, and mashed bananas, alternate additions with the buttermilk carefully to hydrate the flour proteins uniformly without developing excessive elasticity that yields a tough, rubbery sponge. Incorporating the mashed fruit requires completely ripe bananas containing maximum natural sugars, which break down starches to ensure the interior remains remarkably moist even while baking in two separate 9-inch round pans at 375 degrees.
Managing Oven Heat and Foil Shielding
Direct radiant heat in a standard oven can easily scorch flaked coconut sprinkled on top of unbaked batter long before the center finishes cooking. Loosely draping aluminum foil over the pans during the final 10 minutes of the 25-to-30-minute baking window blocks excessive browning while allowing internal steam to escape safely. Letting the baked layers rest undisturbed in their pans for precisely 15 minutes solidifies the structural crumb enough to prevent cracking when inverted onto wire racks.
The Mechanics of High-Speed Frosting Aeration
Creating a stable buttercream frosting relies entirely on mechanical shear force to trap microscopic air bubbles within the fat matrix of softened butter and shortening. Running the mixer on low speed initially prevents powdered sugar from dusting the entire kitchen, but transitioning immediately to high speed for a full 5 minutes whips the cold evaporated milk, vanilla, and coconut extracts into a light, spreadable emulsion that holds its shape against the weight of the stacked cake layers.
