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    Home » Recipes » Amish Cakes

    Blue-Ribbon Banana Cake

    Published: Apr 28, 2021 · Updated: Apr 28, 2021 by Kevin Williams | 7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Bananas are surprisingly popular in Amish kitchens. You wouldn’t think a fruit more typically associated with the tropics would enjoy a deep culinary history with the Amish. But, bananas ship well, and that makes all the difference. Especially when it comes to bananas going into recipes like this Blue-Ribbon Banana Cake! (the only place in the tropics, where fruits like bananas, grapefruit, etc could grow, that the Amish live in the US would be in Florida)

    First, though,  for much of the 20th century, most Amish either sourced their own food at home, meaning they grew it, or raised it. But they would also go to local generally Amish-owned neighborhood “grocery store. Now, these are not your local Safeway or Kroger Marketplace. These little groceries often tucked away into an outbuilding or basement of a house. These little groceries specialized in bulk foods, like flour in 20 pound sacks, chocolate chips, and other baking essentials. You could also buy boxes of oranges, and bananas, both fruits would be considered treats and they ship well.

    Even today most Amish settlements have these small community "grocery stores." The Amish are, however, more mobile these days so the little groceries face the same competition from Walmart and Kroger that other smaller non-Amish groceries feel.

    Now, back to bananas...of course, what do you do when the bananas begin to go bad? Well, those ripe beauties can go into banana bread, pudding, and then there’s also this prize winning blue ribbon banana cake. Man, this was good. Had peanut butter frosting and, yeah, it’s been a hit in our house. The recipe was given to me by a Mennonite woman in Virginia years ago.

    Ripe Bananas for Banana Cake

    These bananas were getting ripe and once they start to turn brown, forget it, my kids won't eat them. But they had zero problem eating banana cake.

    Mashed Bananas in the Banana Cake Batter

    I tried to mash the heck out of the bananas before putting them into the batter, but still don't feel like I did a great job.

    Beatrice Stirring the Batter

    My little kitchen helper giving the batter a good stir!

    Banana Cake Batter

    I could have stopped right here and just eaten the batter. The batter tasted amazing.

    Banana Cake With Peanut Butter Frosting

    The peanut butter frosting was thick and amazing on this cake, complemented the banana taste perfectly. I can see why this is blue-ribbon banana cake!

    blue-ribbon banana cake

    Jump to:
    • 🍌 Blue-Ribbon Banana Cake
    • 📋 Cake Instructions
    • 🍌 More Amish Recipes with Bananas
    • 🖨️ Cake Recipe

    🍌 Blue-Ribbon Banana Cake

    • ¾ cup shortening
    • 1 ½ cups sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 cup mashed bananas
    • 2 cups flour
    • 1 /2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 /2 cup buttermilk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Peanut Butter Frosting

    • 2 cups of peanut butter
    • 2 cups of confectioners sugar
    • 1 cup of milk (adjust to desired consistency
    • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

    📋 Cake Instructions

    1. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat 2 minutes.
    2. Add banana.
    3. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk and vanilla.
    4. Beat 2 more minutes and pour into greased, floured 9 X 13 inch pan.
    5. Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes.

    FROSTING: In a bowl, mix peanut butter, milk, and sugar. You will need to adjust milk and sugar according to the consistency you prefer. Stir in vanilla and brown sugar after you've reached desired. consistency. Spread onto cooled cake.

    🍌 More Amish Recipes with Bananas

    Basic Banana Bread - Delicious!

    Banana Muffins - Wonderful!

    Frosted Banana Bars - So good!

    Blueberry Banana Bread - Wow!

    🖨️ Cake Recipe

    blue-ribbon banana cake

    Blue-Ribbon Banana Cake

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American, Amish
    Servings 12

    Ingredients
      

    • ¾ cup shortening
    • 1 ½ cups sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 cup mashed bananas
    • 2 cups flour
    • 1 /2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 /2 cup buttermilk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Frosting

    • 2 cups peanut butter
    • 2 cups confectioners sugar
    • 1 cup of milk (adjust to desired consistency
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

    Instructions
     

    • Cream shortening and sugar.
    • Add eggs and beat 2 minutes.
    • Add banana.Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk and vanilla.
    • Beat 2 more minutes and pour into greased, floured 9 X 13 inch pan.

    Peanut Butter Frosting

    • In a bowl, mix peanut butter, milk,and sugar.
    • You will need to adjust milk and sugar according to the consistency you prefer.
    • Stir in vanilla and brown sugar after you've reached desired.consistency.
    • Spread onto cooled cake.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    « Amish Beef and Noodle Garden Stew
    Amish Hamburger Corn Casserole »

    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Judy Horras

      April 28, 2021 at 5:04 pm

      Frosting ingredient amounts have been omitted from Blue Ribbon Banana Bread Recipe. Please update to include. Thank you.

      Reply
    2. jamie l kempema

      April 28, 2021 at 5:21 pm

      Kevin, I seen this pick regarding the butter, but didn't see butter in the recipe ingregient list?

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        April 28, 2021 at 5:59 pm

        Oops, no...butter, that picture is for tomorrow's recipe. I deleted it, thanks!

        Reply
    3. tink davenport

      April 28, 2021 at 6:31 pm

      About how many bananas make a cup for the cake recipe?

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        April 28, 2021 at 7:02 pm

        I used two large bananas, that was a little more than a cup.

        Reply
    4. Cathie Kukec

      April 29, 2021 at 8:32 am

      Hi Kevin,

      I’m with your girls regarding bananas. Green just turned to yellow are great for out of hand eating. Once they develop spots or turn brown, they move to the good for baking category!

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        April 29, 2021 at 11:36 am

        Yep that is how my girls are, at least they liked the banana cake!

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

    More about me →

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