Tuesdays with Dorie: Lot's of ways Banana Cake

Is it crazy to be obsessed with a baking pan? A mini bundt cake pan to be exact. Seriously, if I could make cookies, pies, pasta, and salad in this thing, I would. Everything goes into it's softly rounded contours, come out so beautifully. I bet that even make my culinary arch nemesis, Brussels sprouts, would look appetizing in tiny ( even smaller than these ) bundt shapes... although a large amount feta or goat cheese would have to be involved somehow. On second thought, maybe not. I wouldn't want to taint my beloved pan with any negative feelings that I have towards the bitter little cabbages. We'll keep those two worlds separate and in their respective happy places for now. My point is simply that I adore my mini bundt pan. It's a baker's thing. Odd? Yes. When it first arrived I lovingly ran my fingers through each of it's six molds. Sweater/cat had to avert his eyes.


Enough about the pan, what about these cakes? They're delightful! Whenever I say the world 'delightful', I always hear it said with James Lipton's voice. Sorry. These cakes are a refreshing twist on banana bread. Please don't let the word bread put you into a state of boredom. This recipe merely has the flavour of your favourite banana bread. But, it also has a softness to it that's reminiscent of a cake. And just as the name implies, it can be made into a variety of shapes.

The cake contains coconut and has the optional ingredient of rum (which I of course used.) These 2 combinations, along with the fact that it's a banana cake, gave it a tropical Caribbean vibe. Hello, Jack Sparrow. The chocolate ganache is not a requirement. In fact, I ate my cake plain...after it took a rum-soaked bath. Because I'm evil, I served everyone else with a healthy dose of ganache. They were a hit! Who can resist bananas and chocolate?


For the complete recipe, please visit Kimberly, of the delicious Only Creative Opportunities. Or buy a copy of Dorie's infamous book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Thank you, Kimberly, for giving me yet another excuse to play with my mini bundt pan...and to use rum. Please visit the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers for more incarnations of this versatile cake!

If you decide to make the mini bundt versions, half of the recipe yields 6 splendid cakes.