Banana Macadamia Nut Cake

Again, I have to say... I don't like baking, because I need to measure everything exactly as written in a recipe and I cannot fix the output if it comes out from my oven with a disastrous result. Ratio, measurement, temperature, time, exact ingredient (confectioners sugar vs. granulated sugar OR all-purpose flour vs. cake flour), and all the details make me feel dumb.

Yet, I also have to admit, as long as you follow the recipe diligently, baking is a piece of a cake. :) You mix everything carefully, put it in the oven... and that's it! While your cake is baking, you can clean up your flour-mess (oh, yes that's another reason why I don't like baking)and wash your dishes or brew a cup of coffee that you can enjoy with your soon-to-be-ready cake.

This morning, I happened to have four almost-black banana on my countertop where they were sitting for a week. I had to use them all at once so I thought about a banana cake, and after a few minutes of search in Epicurious, I found the following recipe, "Banana-Macadamia Nut Muffins" on Bon Appétit magazine, June 1991 edition. Based on reviews from other wonderful home cooks, I adjusted the original recipe with less sugar & butter but more banana.

If I bake the cake and it came out great, surely you can do it. Yes, really.


Banana Macadamia Nut Cake
(adopted and modified recipe from "Banana-Macadamia Nut Muffins" on Bon Appétit magazine June 1991 edition)

(Yield: 12 muffins / Cooking time: 35 min)

Ingredients:
+ 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
+ 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
+ 1/4 tsp salt
+ 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
+ 4 large mashed ripe bananas (about 1 2/3 cups)
+ 1/4 cup white sugar
+ 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
+ 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (1/2 stick)
+ 1/4 cup vegetable oil
+ 1/4 cup milk
+ 1 large egg
+ 1 cup unsalted macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped

Procedures:
1. Preheat your oven at 350°F, and prepare the muffin mold by greasing muffin cups or lining with muffin papers --- I prefer the muffin papers.
2. Make sure you have all the ingredients measured first.


3. You need two medium bowls. One for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients. First, measure your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and ground nutmeg) and mix all in a bowl.


4. Then, measure your wet ingredients (mashed bananas, white sugar*, brown sugar*, melted unsalted butter, vegetable oil, milk and egg) and mix all in another bowl. Add the chopped macadamia nuts.


*Tip: Why sugar is mixed with "wet" ingredients?
When you are baking, sometimes the recipe says mix sugar with wet ingredients (e.g. milk or egg) and sometimes it says mix sugar with dry ingredients (e.g. flour).
Usually, the former case (with wet ingredients) is when you need soft and fluffy texture from the baked product (e.g. most of cakes). When dissolved sugar in liquid is mixed with flour, the sugar inhibit forming gluten. (Gluten makes the finished product chewy & tough).
The latter case (with dry ingredients) is to give the texture and structure to the finished baked product (e.g. most of cookies).

5. Sift dry ingredient mix and add to the wet ingredients.


6. Fold the dry and wet ingredients well not to have any lumps of flour. But, please do not over work! Over-working makes the outcome tough (again, because of gluten).


7. Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin mold. This recipe should give you 12 muffins.

8. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.


9. Transfer muffins to rack and cool.



Enjoy~