Banana Cake w/Caramel Icing
As requested on Plurk:
Cake
Preheat oven to 325
1 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Butter
2 Eggs
3 Mashed Bananas (pref on the brown side of ripe)
2C Flour
4 Tbs. Buttermilk
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs and banana and mix until combined (banana should still have some small chunks)
3. I think you are supposed to sift the flour and baking soda and add to the base bit-by-bit, alternating with a tbs of buttermilk and vanilla. I can't find the original recipe and I don't think it matters much.
Bake at 325 for approx 25 minutes.
Icing
As noted, both of these recipes are hand-me-down from my great grandma. Original measures were approximate and involved "butter the size of an egg" type notations. Below is my most recent experiment. Some years it works and some it doesn't. That's part of the fun. It always tastes good, though.
5 Tbs Butter
2 Cups Brown Sugar (I think I used Dark last year)
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Dark Karo Syrup
1/2 Cup Half-and-Half
1 Tsp Vanilla
Melt butter. Add brown sugar and water and allow water to completely dissolve the sugar while you stir. Heat over medium-high heat until it reaches about 250 on a candy thermometer. This is just at the edge of the "Hard Ball" stage. I have a nice candy thermometer I can leave in the pan, but it does not touch the sides or bottom. If you don't have a thermometer, this is the guide:
Drop a small amount of the hot candy syrup into 1/2 cup ice-cold water. With your fingers, roll the syrup into a ball. If it will not roll, it's not ready.
There are 5 "stages" for the temperatures you might need:
234-240 degrees (caramels, fudge, etc) = soft ball (form a soft ball that flattens on removal from water.
244-248 degrees = firm ball (forms a firm ball which does not flatten when removed)
250-266 degrees = hard ball (forms a ball hard enough to hold its shape, yet pliable)<<<<---
270-290 degrees = soft crack (separates into threads as its placed in water which are hard but not brittle)
300-310 degrees = hard crack (separates into thread which are hard and brittle)
Remove from heat, let cool just a few seconds (until the boiling calms a little) and add the half-and-half and vanilla. Beat it hard until thick and allow to cool a little. Spread it on the cake before it gets too difficult to spread.
Cake
Preheat oven to 325
1 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Butter
2 Eggs
3 Mashed Bananas (pref on the brown side of ripe)
2C Flour
4 Tbs. Buttermilk
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs and banana and mix until combined (banana should still have some small chunks)
3. I think you are supposed to sift the flour and baking soda and add to the base bit-by-bit, alternating with a tbs of buttermilk and vanilla. I can't find the original recipe and I don't think it matters much.
Bake at 325 for approx 25 minutes.
Icing
As noted, both of these recipes are hand-me-down from my great grandma. Original measures were approximate and involved "butter the size of an egg" type notations. Below is my most recent experiment. Some years it works and some it doesn't. That's part of the fun. It always tastes good, though.
5 Tbs Butter
2 Cups Brown Sugar (I think I used Dark last year)
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Dark Karo Syrup
1/2 Cup Half-and-Half
1 Tsp Vanilla
Melt butter. Add brown sugar and water and allow water to completely dissolve the sugar while you stir. Heat over medium-high heat until it reaches about 250 on a candy thermometer. This is just at the edge of the "Hard Ball" stage. I have a nice candy thermometer I can leave in the pan, but it does not touch the sides or bottom. If you don't have a thermometer, this is the guide:
Drop a small amount of the hot candy syrup into 1/2 cup ice-cold water. With your fingers, roll the syrup into a ball. If it will not roll, it's not ready.
There are 5 "stages" for the temperatures you might need:
234-240 degrees (caramels, fudge, etc) = soft ball (form a soft ball that flattens on removal from water.
244-248 degrees = firm ball (forms a firm ball which does not flatten when removed)
250-266 degrees = hard ball (forms a ball hard enough to hold its shape, yet pliable)<<<<---
270-290 degrees = soft crack (separates into threads as its placed in water which are hard but not brittle)
300-310 degrees = hard crack (separates into thread which are hard and brittle)
Remove from heat, let cool just a few seconds (until the boiling calms a little) and add the half-and-half and vanilla. Beat it hard until thick and allow to cool a little. Spread it on the cake before it gets too difficult to spread.