This is a great glorified muffin. It is made like banana bread, topped with sliced bananas, brushed with butter, and then covered with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. The turbinado sugar gives them an extra crunch.
This muffin works best in a jumbo muffin tin, but it can also be made as a cake in small loaf pans.
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about three large)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
bananas for slicing
2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing on the cake tops
1/4 cup turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
Prepare the baking molds by greasing well and flouring the bottoms. Texas or jumbo muffin tins work best instead of the standard-sized muffin tins. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue beating. Add the bananas, vanilla, and buttermilk.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together.
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter-banana mixture and fold in.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared molds.
5. Slice the bananas and arrange them on top of the dough. Use as many slices as desired. (Remember, the dough will expand in the oven while the banana slices will tend to become smaller.)
6. Brush the tops with the melted butter and then sprinkle them with turbinado sugar.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the baking molds. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean. Cool on wire racks.
