Going bananas......

Today is one of my co-worker's birthday, like with every birthday here in the office I make a cake. I always seem to bake the same things, so this time I went out of the box a bit. I found this recipe online that I wanted to try and have been waiting for an occasion to bake. Well today is the day.

The little slice of heaven:
Banana Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
modified recipe from Everyday Cook

Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 1/3 cups mashed very ripe bananas (I used frozen ones that I had in the freezer)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I used bottled lemon juice)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (I used margarine)
- 2 large eggs

For the frosting:
- 6 tablespoons butter (no substitutions)
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 5 tablespoons milk (I used water)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9 baking pan; set aside. (I decided to make a two-layer cake, so I used two 8-inch rounds. I greased and floured them well.)
2. In a small bowl, combine bananas, lemon juice, and vanilla.
3. In another small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. In a large bowl, add brown sugar, sugar and butter; beat on medium speed until light and creamy. Add 1 egg at a time; beat well after each one.
5. On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the banana mixture; start with flour and end with flour. Beat batter just until smooth.
6. Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cake on wire rack.

For the frosting:
1. In a small sauce pan, heat butter over medium heat until melted and dark nutty brown color, but not burned, about 6 to 8 minutes; stir occasionally. Immediately transfer butter into pie plate; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. (Make sure to keep a close eye on it. It's important not to burn it. The butter is browned when the little "grains of sand" you'll see in the bottom turn a uniform color, a nutty brown.) I actually left it in the refrigerator overnight...if you do that take it out to let it soften a bit.

2. In a large bowl, add chilled butter, sugar, milk and vanilla on medium speed until creamy and smooth. (I recommend adding your milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you want)