This turned out to be one super moist and ridiculously flavorful little cake.
I love it when the baking Gods smile down.
I didn’t want to make anything complicated or fussy because I’m on vacation in Aruba.
I also wanted to keep it reasonably healthy since every day is a bikini day here.
There’s no butter in the cake itself, just 1 egg, and I used banana-flavored Greek yogurt.
I was shocked when I saw banana Chob for sale in an Aruban grocery store, and promptly snagged a couple. It’s my favorite yogurt for baking.
The cake is similar to the Banana Pudding Cake with Vanilla Caramel Glaze in my cookbook. However, this cake is slightly smaller, doesn’t call for pudding, and the glaze is even easier.
To make the glaze, you can simply melt the butter or melt a vegan buttery-spread in the micro. But I prefer to brown it. If you’ve never browned butter before, read this tutorial or this or this.
The Cliff’s notes are to simply cook the butter until little brown specks appear, keep on swirling the pan, and don’t let the brown specks turn black. The process takes about 3 to 4 minutes and it’s easy.
I don’t know why people make such a big deal over browning butter, but it really adds such another level of nutty, rich flavor and it’s 4 minutes very well spent.
Pour the buttery glaze over the soft, warm cake, and let it soak in. I made the cake at night, glazed, and covered the cake with foil. By morning the glaze had soaked in almost completely.
It seeps into the nooks and crannies of the cake, and imparts such a comforting flavor. It makes an already moist and tender cake even more so.
If you need a little banana cake that you don’t have to drag your mixer out for, and takes just minutes to whisk together, this is the one.
It’s soft, fluffy, and light, with just enough density to be satisfying.
If you’re like me, ripe bananas seem to multiply on the counter, and you can never have too many banana and banana recipes. I have 40+ Banana Bread and Banana Dessert Recipes.
Add this one to the list.
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Browned Butter Glaze Soaked-Greek Yogurt Banana Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 large egg
- Âľ cup granulated sugar
- ÂĽ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ÂĽ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 6 ounces Greek yogurt (I used Chobani Low-Fat Banana
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Âľ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas, about 2 large or 3 small/medium
Browned Butter Glaze
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3/4 of 1 stick
- about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Instructions
- For the Cake – Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg, sugars, oil, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth and incorporated.
- Add the flour, baking soda, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Add the bananas and stir to just incorporate.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until the top is domed, golden, center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. At about the 20 minute mark, or at any point if your cake is getting a bit too golden or dark before the center is setting, tent with foil (lay a sheet of foil over the top of your cake). I tented at the 20 minute mark and baked for 35 minutes total. Baking times could vary from 25 to 45 minutes depending on water content of the bananas, yogurt, climate, and oven variances.
- Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack while making the glaze.
- For the Browned Butter Glaze – Add butter to a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until butter has melted and begins to brown and brown specks appear; the process usually takes 3 to 5 minutes. During that time, the butter will hiss, foam, sputter, and make lots of noise. This is the water releasing. After the noises subside, small brown specks will begin to appear. Swirl pan frequently throughout the whole process, and nearly continuously after you see the specks because that’s when the butter is prone to burning, and the specks can go from brown to black. I push the envelope and cook the butter as long as I possibly can to develop the most amount of flavor.
- After butter is browned to your liking, transfer to a heat-safe medium-sized bowl.
- Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and optional salt until smooth.
- Pour glaze over warm cake. Smooth it lightly with a spatula.
- Cover cake and allow it to rest so glaze can seep in before serving. I suggest at least 2 to 3 hours; I rested my cake overnight. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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40+ Banana Bread and Banana Dessert Recipes
Thanks for the entries in the 3-Piece Baking Set and Gluten-Free Dough Giveaway and the $100 My Sweet Muffin Giveaway
What’s your favorite banana recipe?