Classic Banana Bundt Cake

A girl I know, once compared her pet peeves to unruly puppies.

I like to think of my pet peeves as puppies, because it makes them less menacing and more like adorable quirks.

My pet peeves:

1. Needless waste.

2. Moldering bananas, covered in fruit flies, turning dark brown.

3. Not having a good dessert on hand.

4. When my brothers don't put the toilet seat down.

Ahem.

I'm sure you really don't care about my pet peeves. But #2 really, really bothers me. And I hate wasting things(see #1).

What does this mean?

It means I'm OCD about wasting bananas. I'm that person who freezes the poor, ancient bananas for future smoothies.

I will not.

Will. Not. Throw. Away. Bananas.

So I turn those unloved, ugly bananas into something delicious.

The only problem is, most banana bread/cake recipes only call for maybe one or two bananas. What do you do if you have 4 or 5 overripe bananas?

You make this cake. It has 4 bananas in it.

Because this is a cake, and not pretentious health food, I added chocolate chips.

Which made me very happy. Even better, this cake improves with age. It's best a day or two after baking. This cake ripens. Like a banana.

And my pet peeves? When I made this cake, they curled up in little adorable balls and took a nap.

(Except for #4. Ahem.)

Classic Banana Bundt Cake

from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 stcks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large, preferably at room temperature

About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Center rack in oven and preheat to 350 F.

Generously butter a 9 to 10 inch (12 cup) bundt pan. Don't place the pan on a baking sheet- you want the oven's heat to circulate through the Bundt's inner tube.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably with paddle attachment, or with a handmixer and large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then add eggs, one at a time, beating for about a minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don't worry if batter curdles), all the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to rebubble the batter and smooth the top.

Bake fro 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 mintues- if it's browing too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a racka dn cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a rack to cool to room temperature.

If you've got the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving, it's better the next day.

p.s. I've decided that Dorie Greenspan cures all ills. When in doubt, turn to Dorie. She always has an answer.