So I have a hard time with banana bread mainly because I am pretty picky about it. It’s just that so many things can go wrong with banana bread…too mushy, too dense, too gooey, too dried-out, too many nuts, not enough nuts…I know you know, we have all had a bad piece of banana bread.

(Until a few days ago) I never made a banana bread recipe that I liked, each one fell subject to one of the qualifiers above. But not today, friends.

This recipe is fantastic.

banana cake muffins with cream cheese icing.

adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, 2006.

makes 24 muffins.

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 ½ cups well mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas. this is easiest is the bananas are in the turning-brown stage, they have more flavor and a better texture for the muffins)

½ cup sour cream

11 TBSP unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

6 TBSP canola oil

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. (note for all baking: if you are using a dark, nonstick pan – reduce your baking temperature by 25 degrees) Line muffin pans with muffin cups.

Stir together the cake flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the bananas and the sour cream; set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy, about 45 seconds.

Add the oil and both sugars and beat at high speed until creamy and light, about 3 minutes.

At medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Beat in the vanilla extract.

At low speed, add the 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until just blended. Then add 1/2 of the banana mixture and mix until just blended, then repeat (1/3 c flour mixture, 1/2 c banana mixture) and finish by mixing in the last 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix until just blended, no need to overbeat in this step, it can make your muffins too dense later.

Optional: stir in the walnuts by hand. Scrape the batter into the muffin pans(I used and ice cream scoop).

Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool and frost.

cream cheese frosting.

1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound (3 3/4 cup) confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; beat well until smooth.

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