Scrumptious Banana Cake

I am so excited to share this recipe. The first time I made it, I ran around the house making everyone try it and they could not believe I made it from scratch. This is by far the BEST cake I have ever made...and I have made a good number of cakes, both from the box and from scratch. If you have ever had Entenmann's Banana Crunch Cake, this is pretty much a copycat recipe of that. The cake is soft, moist, and has the perfect balance of sweetness and banana flavor. Unlike banana bread, it is not dense; instead, it is very light and fluffy. It is easy to make, but it is important to keep the proportions of all the ingredients as close to the recipe as possible. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
     1 1/2 cup of very ripe bananas, mashed
     1 1/3 cup of white sugar
     1 cup of sour cream
     4 tablespoons of butter
     2 eggs
     1 teaspoon of almond essence (or vanilla extract)
     1 tablespoon of honey
     2 cups of all-purpose flour
     2 teaspoons of baking powder
     1/2 teaspoon of salt

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set it aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs. Use the mixer and beat it for at least 3 minutes to help make the batter a little fluffier. Add in the mashed bananas, honey, and almond essence (or vanilla extract). In a separate container, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add it little by little to the batter and beat until combined. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool, and then cover it with plastic wrap or store it in a container to keep it from drying out.

Note: I used to be tempted to add more banana than a recipe calls for to make it have a stronger banana flavor. However, doing this can mess with the texture of the cake, and can prevent it from rising fully and becoming fluffy.