Roasted Banana-polenta Cake RECIPE & .Photos

The best way to get more juice and deeper flavor from ripe bananas is to bake/roast them in a 375f oven for about 25 mins.
Their skins will turn black and they will swell as their juices are released.
Remove from oven and when they are cool enough to handle hold over a bowl and gently release them form their skins.
They will have a wonderful sweet aroma almost caramel.
I used 3 cup fulls  ( 8 medium sized bananas) today to make a great moist, (usually sour cream, I used strained, Greek style, plain yogurt), roasted banana-yellow cornmeal, polenta cake.
The cornmeal adds a nice grainy texture to a dense speckled cake that has the best banana flavor anywhere.


You will need, for a 9x 2x 13 inch ovenproof baking dish or roasting pan:

8ozs/1 cup light brown sugar
4ozs /1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 large eggs beaten
4tbsp sour cream or Greek Yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups roasted bananas roughly mashed, with their juices ( today I doubled this recipe)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of sea salt


Method: Pre heat oven to 375f arrange shelf to middle of oven


1) Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2) Beat in the eggs and add the vanilla and bananas, mix well.

3) Sieve the flour with the raising agents and salt, and mix in the cornmeal, Gently fold into the banana-buttermix.

4) Pour the batter into a greased and floured pan, smooth surface and bake for 40 mins.


5) Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle in pan then invert onto a cooling wire.

Cut when cool enough and serve.

If made in smaller pans, allow to cool in the pans.       


This is great with sour cream or ice cream and a good cup of black coffee,enjoy the photographs:

The baked cake with the speckles of mashed banana