I really wanted to push this as a smash cake idea, but I must tell you that in retesting, it is quite delicate. It is DELICIOUS, but she is not a sturdy, easy to frost cake. I’ll give it to you straight in case you have dreams of a Pinterest-worthy sprinkle dream cake. We’re using banana and maple here, and with the sweetness and tang of the frosting, it all balances to be quite the treat. I tested it with both maple and sugar, the prior resulting in a more damp cake, and certainly less sweet, and the later a bit more traditional (and easier to frost). It gets sweetness from over ripe bananas, and I used Greek yogurt to help “frost” it. Know that Greek yogurt does not hold well at room temperature any longer than an hour, so I would suggest making the cake in advance and assembling it with the yogurt just before serving. Alternatively, if you need it to be sitting out over an hour, or hold stronger for decorating, I would make a half batch of this frosting, and just go easy on the amount. This is so many suggestions! I’m sorry, but there is cake.
MAPLE BANANA CAKE WITH YOGURT FROSTING
Make one 8” cake
I call for quick oats, which may sound annoying and you can use old-fashioned oats with a little pulse in a food processor or blender to break them down a bit. If you want a nicer textured cake, less dense, cake flour in its place here will help. If you do not time your life to have brown bananas in time, canned pumpkin does the trick.
A high fat content Greek yogurt is important here. Regular yogurt or anything runny will not work.
Egg Free: Make a flax egg by mixing the flaxmeal with a Tbsp. of water until it starts to thicken. The banana helps hold things, this doesn’t work as well with the pumpkin swap.
Gluten Free: Use a GF 1:1 flour in place of the whole wheat pastry flour.
Ingredients
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup mashed, overripe bananas (about a medium)
1/3 cup coconut oil, warmed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temp
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour or cake flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats, or pulsed oats (blitzed in a food processor or blender)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
YOGURT FROSTING
2 Tbsp. butter, room temp
2 Tbsp. cream cheese, room temp
6 oz. full-fat Greek yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar for a firmer frosting, maple works
dash of vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350’. Grease and parchment line a 8” pan or three, 6-8” cake rounds (this will yield much thicker layers).
In a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the maple, smashed bananas, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs. Mix well to combine. Add the flour, pulsed oats, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, salt, and give it a few more stirs to just combine. Tip it into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, until cooked in the center. Remove to cool completely.
In a mixer, combine the butter and cream cheese until smooth and aerated a bit. Add the yogurt, powdered sugar, vanilla and mix until combined and smooth. This can be done in advance and kept in the fridge for a few days. Chill to firm up it needed.
If you’re leaving this as a 8” cake, just frost and enjoy. If making a smash cake, use a round tupperware, jar or larger glass to get 2 to 3 circles from the cake and eat the scraps. Layer the cakes with some frosting between, and then over the sides and top. The cake is easier to work with if it is cold! It does need to be kept in the fridge once frosted!
