Recipe: Banana Sheet Cake with Chocolate, Lemon, or Orange Frosting (recipe updated 9-22-05)

BANANA SHEET CAKE
Source: The Best of Family Circle Cookbook
Serves 24

3 3/4 cup sifted cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dairy sour cream
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
FROSTING

Preheat oven to 350F, generously grease 15x10x1 jelly roll pan.

Sift dry ingredients together onto wax paper.

In small bowl, stir together sour cream and banana.

In large bowl of electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar and eggs for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Stir flour mixture alternately with the banana mixture into the butter mixture, beating by hand after each addition, until batter is smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with spatula.

Bake in preheated 350F oven for 24-30 minutes or until center springs back when lightly pressed. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Top with your choice of Chocolate Frosting, or Lemon or Orange Frosting (recipes follow).

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 pound icing sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
nuts (optional)

With electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder alternately with the milk until smooth and spreadable. (Add a little more milk, if needed.) Spread evenly over top of cake; garnish, if desired with finely chopped nuts.

LEMON OR ORANGE FROSTING

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 pound icing sugar
1/4 cup lemon or orange juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon or orange rind
Shredded lemon or orange rind (optional)
Chopped pistachios or walnuts (optional)

With electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Beat in the icing sugar alternately with the juice until smooth and spreadable. Fold in grated rind. Spread evenly over top of the cake. If desired, garnish with shredded rind and chopped nuts if you wish.