{"id":5665,"date":"2016-03-02T22:15:12","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T03:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/?p=5665"},"modified":"2024-04-05T14:42:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T18:42:40","slug":"banana-cardamom-buttermilk-loaf-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/banana-cardamom-buttermilk-loaf-cake\/","title":{"rendered":"Banana Buttermilk Loaf Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Learn how to make a banana buttermilk loaf cake with this easy recipe. This buttermilk cake is different than traditional banana bread because it has chunks of banana folded into the batter before baking, instead of using mashed banana.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Banana<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I opted for a buttermilk cake base, with a little whole wheat pastry flour. I mixed the chopped banana into the batter just before baking to make sure this would be a buttermilk cake with banana and not a buttermilk banana bread. And because of my love of cardamom and my previous experience with this cardamom banana bread recipe, clearly, cardamom and banana are magical when combined. So I added some freshly ground green cardamom for its floral notes. The recipe comes together like any other cake by the creaming method, and the glaze was a quick mix of icing sugar, melted butter, buttermilk, and a splash of vanilla.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Banana<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The thing that surprised me about this cake is that I was certain that the banana chunks wouldn't discolour inside the cake as it baked. And there really was some thought behind that assumption. The first reason was that I peeled and chopped the banana right before working in the dry ingredients into the batter. I worked quickly to minimize the time the banana chunks were exposed to the air. The second reason that I thought the bananas would not brown is because I assumed the batter would be somewhat acidic (with a lower than neutral pH) because of the unbalanced buttermilk in the recipe. If you look at my list of ingredients (compared to most other buttermilk cake recipes), I didn't provide any sodium bicarbonate to balance out the acidity of the buttermilk. That was done on purpose. I didn't want any ingredients to mess with that acidity and I thought that given the unbalanced acid in this recipe, that acid would prevent (or slow) the browning process of the bananas enough that once the chunks eventually felt the heat of the oven, that those pesky browning enzymes (polyphenol oxidase) would denature and no longer cause browning. Does that make sense? Basically, I was banking on the combination of an acidic environment and the heat of the oven to prevent the browning of the fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, I was wrong. The banana chunks greyed a little around the edges. Conclusion: I really need to get a pH meter or even some pH paper to verify the pHs as I go. Or maybe I need to work more on my banana browning theory (or rather my banana greying<\/em> theory in this case). Remember blueberries turn green<\/a> with changes in pH.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Unglazed<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

On the bright side, I wasn't wrong about everything. I omitted the baking soda<\/a> that most buttermilk cake recipes tend to include because I felt like it was unnecessary. This cake is made with baking powder, so it has that perfect combination of bicarbonate and an acid. This cake also gets its lift from the rising power of eggs. As predicted, my little loaf cake rose beautifully in the oven, up and out of the pan, so my theory, that the extra bicarbonate in most buttermilk cake recipes isn't really necessary, was correct. At least I seem to have gotten that much right, and so I rewarded myself with cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n