Peanut Butter Cup Banana Cake

I’ve had a rough week. It’s been a week of emotional curveballs, theatre surprises, family drama, Hurricane Sandy aftermath, an article I handed in late, and lots. And lots. Of essays.

Not to dump all of my shit on you or anything (like I did to my suitemates two hours ago), or else I’d have to make it up to you with a gooey peanut butter cup banana cake (like I did for my suitemates twenty minutes ago). Sometimes you make decisions you don’t really know will lead to the result they end up leading to, and for that you have to just have a little angry freshman-year-music session, forgive yourself, and make something with a definitively certain result. There’s such great security in baking. Unless you’re like me and measure things half-assed and make substitutions that really aren’t okay---except don’t substitute anything in this banana cake, because it’s sort of perfect the way it is.

As a self-defined stress baker, I have learned that using very ripe bananas is a wonderful culinary decision, and not such a great emotional one. It’s way too easy to mash. No pent-up frustration induced force necessary.

Enjoy! (Photography credits to An Uong.)

  Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread by Ambitious Kitchen:

(adaptations include Angsty Freshman Year Music and a dash of morose)

 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

 ½ tsp baking soda

 1 tsp baking powder

 ½ tsp salt

 ¼ cup of softened butter

 ¾ cup of sugar

 3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed 

2 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla

 1/2 cup of milk

 ¼ cup of fat free vanilla yogurt

 1 ¼ cup chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

 1/3 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups for topping

 Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan. In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and mashed banana together until very creamy about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs and beat until well combined. Add flour, yogurt and milk alternatively until well combined. Gently fold in 1 ¼ cup of chopped peanut butter cups. Pour batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of chopped peanut butter cups over the top. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out almost clean in center. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then remove from pan gently and transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.