Banana Caramel Cake and EatSmart Kitchen Scale Giveaway Winner!!!

I saw this Banana Caramel Cake on Natalie’s blog, The Sweets Life and knowing I needed to use up a bunch of overripe bananas I had sitting on the counter, decided I’d try this cake.  It calls for caramel ice cream topping and for some reason I had a jar of it in my pantry.

The recipe Natalie posted says to bake the cake in a 9 inch pan.  But I was going to visit someone and wanted to give some of the cake away.  So I used 7 ounces (200 grams) of batter in two mini loaf pans (the tin kind) and the rest of the batter (which was 16 ounces or 468 grams) in an 8x4 inch bread pan.  These baked off beautifully.  The smaller ones were done in 28 minutes with the larger once baking for 33 minutes.

Not the prettiest thing, but I think it would look better in a 9 inch round cake pan.  (Natalie’s does look good!)

This cake has nice banana flavor that is complimented well by the gooey caramel.  You do not need to frost this already rich cake.  But of course, we served it with some vanilla ice cream on top and a little more caramel drizzled over the top and with some crunchy toasted pecans as well.  I was happy when Kevin’s sister dropped by while we were eating the cake and I was able to give the rest of it away to her (so I wouldn’t eat more!).

I followed the recipe on Natalie’s blog exactly, except for using different pans.  The only thing I thought a little confusing about the recipe is that it calls for 3/8 cup butter.  I don’t “DO” fractions.  (I know, funny that I’m a baker and don’t like fractions.  Whatever.  They don’t make a measuring cup 3/8, what’s a girl to do?)  How many tablespoons of butter is 3/8 of a cup?  Do you know?  Kevin told me 3/8 is close to 1/2 cup (Yes, I had to be told that when I actually know that 4/8 IS 1/2, but my mind just does not like thinking of these little details.  Just tell me what my new Eat Smart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale says that 3/8 cup is in grams, ounces, kilograms or pounds, that I can handle.  In fact, I love measuring things on the scale.  So do the boys, they will just take random things and weigh them on the scale.  You’ll see that I put things about the banana caramel cake recipe in ounces and grams.  Just having fun there.  And by the way, 3/8 of a cup of butter is 85 grams.  (I looked it up online.)  Knowing lots of people don’t have a kitchen scale, I believe 3/8 of a cup is just over 6 tablespoons of butter. 

I know one more person who DOES have a kitchen scale and that’s the winner of the EatSmart Kitchen Scale Giveaway!  I put the names in a bowl this morning and had Sam randomly draw one name from it just before we headed out to his school this morning.

And the winner is…drum roll please………………………….

Emily!  Who said---

Emily said...

Great giveaway!
Since I moved away from my parents, I no longer have access to a kitchen scale. :( I'd love to be able to measure flour.
I want that chocolate sorbet. Chocolate always wins over fruit.

August 29, 2010 2:46 AM

Yay, Emily!  Emily, who has a great, delicious blog, Sugar Plum, and is quite the talented gal in the kitchen is the winner.  Send me an email with your address, Emily, and I’ll have EatSmart send you one of their cool scales!   Thanks, EatSmart, for letting me review and try one of your Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scales and for letting me have a giveaway for one of my lucky readers!

Happy Baking!  Happy September!