I promise this is an excellent recipe for banana pound cake. The original post could use an update, but the cake is delicious and well worth making.
Weddings are joyful celebrations, and brides often spend months planning every detail — the venue, the flowers, the first dance, the dress, and of course the cake. But while the wedding is a beautiful day, it is only the opening chapter of the marriage. It marks a change from “me” to “us,” from separate lives to a shared journey.
Weddings tend to focus on the bride and the day itself; marriage is the long, unfolding journey you build together. If the path you’ve taken so far is any guide, your journey will be rich and rewarding.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together,
For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
–Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
These words have guided us and continue to do so.
And now, about that cake…
Coconut Banana Pound Cake with Nutella Glaze
Jennifer Field
Ingredients
For the Pound Cake
- 8 oz butter, at cool room temperature
- 3 oz coconut oil, solid but not brittle
- 18 oz sugar
- 1 slightly rounded teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 5 eggs, beaten
- 13 oz cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 7 oz ripe banana
- 3 oz coconut cream (the thick cream that rises to the top of a can of coconut milk)
For the Glaze
- 1 cup Nutella
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
For the Pound Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Position the oven rack one below center.
- Prepare a Bundt-type pan: spray with pan spray, then flour well and discard excess flour.
- Whisk together the cake flour and baking powder; set aside.
- Blend the banana and coconut cream until smooth; set aside.
- Cream the butter, coconut oil, sugar, salt, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, over 3–4 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the banana mixture on low speed, mixing just until combined after each addition. Scrape the bowl as necessary.
- Pour or scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean; about 1 hour 5 minutes in the author’s oven.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn it out. Place the cake back in the pan and wrap it. Chill in the refrigerator or freezer to cool completely—this helps minimize moisture loss.
- Once cool, drizzle the glaze over the cake.
For the Glaze
- Warm the Nutella and coconut oil together in a double boiler or briefly in the microwave until the mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Stir smooth and pour over the cooled cake.
Notes
So, that is my shower gift to you, Nelly. I wish you a wonderful wedding, a joyful and strong marriage, and plenty of cake.
This post was contributed as part of a bridal shower celebration honoring Nelly. Along with recipes and wishes, friends shared a metaphorical “recipe” for a happy marriage:
BLOGGERS’ RECIPE FOR NELLY’S WEDDED BLISS
Mix together: a lot of love, patience, perseverance, respect, courage, strength, trust, kindness, honesty, compromise, and intimacy.
Stir in: equal parts love, support, faith, fidelity, hope, validation, friendship, forgiveness, and communication.
Cook over a slow simmer for the rest of your life. Dot daily with a sense of humor.
Leave out nagging, sarcasm, skepticism, doubt, and stubbornness.
Serving suggestion: best prepared daily. Serve with flourish — married life is a feast.
Some days the ingredients may be less fresh or the heat may flare up; when that happens, cool things down with patience and love. Enjoy the feast of marriage, love, and life.