brown butter bliss

Brown butter banana cake with brown butter frosting. Brown butter is the best. It's an ingredient I've decided to try to work into pretty much anything I make in the future, and I'm fully convinced that those treats will be all the better because of it!

So I've been MIA for awhile...oops! There's nothing happening in A Southern Grace-land except good things, though...

Baby #2 is due in April! I just entered the third trimester, and I've started a running list of things I take for granted when I don't have a pregnant stomach with which to contend:
-Getting clothes out of the washer
-Changing crib sheets
-Sleeping
-Picking up a 25-pound squirming child
-Reading a story to the aforementioned kid while she's sprawled out on my lap
-Grabbing things off of the floor
-Getting up off of the floor
-Sleeping

Seriously though, we couldn't be more excited! Disclaimer: That picture was taken in October. I'm looking quite a bit rounder these days.

So while I've definitely been relying on tried-and-true recipes for the most part, I've made a few new things. I can't say I found any of them worthy of posting, until now. This is a recipe I absolutely want to keep and make again and again!

There's browned butter in both the cake and the frosting, so it's obviously one of the foremost flavors (hooray!). The banana is subtle in the very moist, very soft cake, and the cinnamon is strong enough to be noticed but not detract from the brown butter in any way. There's a pretty thick layer of frosting on the cake, but since that's always my favorite part of any cake (unless said frosting is made with pure shortening...blech), I didn't mind it one bit!

My husband and I demolished this cake so quickly that I think I'll go ahead and double the recipe and bake it in a 13x9-inch pan next time. Don't judge me if next time is this afternoon.

All Brown Butter Banana Cake
Adapted from this recipe
(printable recipe)
Serves 9
Ingredients:
Cake:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup mashed banana (about 2)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk (or more as needed)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
To make the cake, first place the butter in a saucepan and heat on medium until the butter is completely melted. Turn down the heat to medium-low and whisk the butter. Continue to cook while whisking until the butter begins to brown and smell nutty. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat together the egg and granulated sugar until fluffy.
Add the brown sugar and browned butter and beat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is lighter in color. Beat in the vanilla.
Mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside.
Mix together the banana and sour cream in another bowl and set aside.
Alternate between mixing the flour mixture and the banana mixture into the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the flour.
Pour the batter into your baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a few crumbs sticking to it.
Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the brown butter frosting, brown the butter in the same manner you did for the banana cake. Allow the butter to cool until firm; you can use the refrigerator to expedite things if necessary.
With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until well combined.
Add in the salt, vanilla, and milk and beat until it is a smooth, creamy consistency. Add more milk as needed to create your desired consistency.
Spread the frosting over the cooled banana cake.