Amy’s Bread Monkey Cake
Yield: one 9-inch double-layer cake
Equipment: two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans
This is the Amy’s Bread version of a Hummingbird Cake. We called it a Monkey Cake because we “monkeyed around” with the ingredients proportions and because monkeys love bananas. We know it sounds crazy, but that really is how we came up with the name. This very moist, very dense cake is rich with the fruity sweetness of bananas and pineapple. Toasty chunks of pecan add a nice counterpoint to the soft texture of this cake. Topped with Cream Cheese Icing, it’s one of Amy’s personal favorites.
INGREDIENTS:
2 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups canola oil
3 large eggs
1 ½ tsps. vanilla extract
2 cups bananas: ripe, mashed, with chunks remaining
1 cup crushed pineapple, with juice
1 cup pecans, toasted & coarsely chopped
1 recipe Cream Cheese Icing [ see recipe ]
[1] Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease the cake pans. Line the bottoms with rounds of baking parchment then dust them lightly with flour. Shake out the excess. Or use Baker’s Joy baking spray that contains both oil and flour, so you don’t have to flour the pan. With Baker’s Joy, put the parchment liner in AFTER you spray the pan.
[2] In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and stir briefly on medium-low speed, to distribute the ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until they are well combined. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-low speed, just until all the flour has been moistened. This should take less than 20 seconds.
[3] Add the bananas and pineapple and stir briefly, 20 seconds, on low speed to distribute them evenly. Then add the pecans and mix again on low speed until just combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Do not overmix this batter or your cake will be tough.
[4] Divide the batter equally between the two prepared cake pans. Weighing the batter into the pans is the most accurate way to do this. This ensures that both layers will be uniform in size and will finish baking at the same time. You’ll have approximately 945.0 g/33.3 oz. of batter per pan. The pans should be about half full. Place the pans on the center rack in the preheated oven. Bake them for 35 to 38 minutes, or until the cake is almost ready to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. The cakes should be uniformly dark golden brown. Rotate the layers carefully from front to back after 20 minutes for even baking.
[5] Cool the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a wire rack that has been sprayed with cooking spray and lift off the pans. To prevent cracking, carefully right each layer so the top side is up and the parchment-lined bottom is down. Cool them completely on the rack. Before frosting, be sure to remove the parchment from the bottom of each layer. While the cake layers are cooling, prepare the Cream Cheese Icing. Keep the icing refrigerated until you are ready to use it.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
[6] Place one layer, top side down, on a flat serving plate. Cut several 4-inch wide strips of parchment or waxed paper to slide under the edge of the layer to keep the plate clean. Using a thin metal spatula, spread the top of this cake round with a ½ inch thick layer of frosting, leaving a ¼ inch unfrosted border around the edge. Place the second layer, top side up, on the first, aligning the layers evenly. Spread a generous layer of frosting around the sides of the cake, rotating the plate as you work so you’re not reaching around the cake to frost the other side. Try not to let any loose crumbs get caught in the frosting. Let the frosting extend about ¼ inch above the top of the cake.
[7] Starting in the center of the cake, cover the top with a generous layer of frosting, taking it all the way to the edge and merging it with the frosting on the sides. Try to use a forward-moving circular motion, not a back-and-forth motion, to avoid lifting the top skin of the cake. Rotate the plate as necessary. Use the spatula or a spoon to make decorative swirls. Slide the pieces of paper out from under the edge of the cake and discard them. Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but allow it to sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
*Notes:
Be sure to use ripe bananas for maximum flavor and moisture, and leave them a little chunky when you mash them.
Use crushed pineapple packed in juice, not syrup, and include the juice along with the pineapple when weighing or measuring it.
This cake can be mixed easily by hand if you don’t have an electric mixer.
