Historic Recipe: Banana Cake

Greetings!

Well, we all survived Sissy's birthday party and the food seemed to go over well. The two big hits for the day were both Fannie Farmer recipes - one for homemade macaroni and cheese (using cream, milk, butter and cheese - really, how could it not be good?) and the other for banana cake (also using cream and butter). There is no way we could have pulled off such good eats for all 15 attendees if we had not been saving up butter, sugar and cheese over the past few weeks!

The banana cake has been a family favorite for years and years. The Man of the House's mother received a Fannie Farmer cookbook on her wedding day and the banana cake recipe has been a regular staple in their family ever since. Here's the recipe:

Banana Cake

• Set oven at 350 degrees and butter your pan (recipe calls for a 9" square pan but we always use our Bundt pan)


• Cream 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy


• Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar in gradually


• Add 2 eggs, slightly beaten


• Beat thoroughly and add 1 cup mashed banana (it's okay if it's a little more than 1 cup) and 1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract (we always use vanilla)


• Sift together 2 cups pastry or cake flour (often times we use all-purpose flour and it turns out just fine), 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt


• Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with 1/2 cup milk or cream


• Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until surface is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean

In keeping with the rationing tradition we have not been buying bananas regularly, but when we have I always set a few aside in preparation for Sissy's birthday. Also, I did not ice the banana cakes but instead sprinkled them with confectioner's sugar, since frosting (loaded with sugar and fat) was a rarity during WWII.

Yum! Tasty and a worthy platform for a nine year old's wishes!

--Rational Mama