banana rum cake

my family split up into 3 teams for a friendly food competition a few weeks ago at the beach.

i was captian of team caribbean.  

we made some crab dip, jerk paste for chicken & shrimp skewers, fruit plates, and saffron rice on the side.

the grand finale was a banana rum cake for dessert.  

YEAH MON

i started with a box of yellow cake mix, and added baking soda

dark caribbean rum

water

two eggs (cracked with one hand, like a badass)

some chopped glazed pecan bits 

(i pulverized them in a food processor to make them as small as possible)

and some mashed bananas

(i actually pureed mine in a food processor)

then stir it until it comes together.

notice the markings on my hand?

i got henna for a hindu wedding.  pretty rad

alright so after you bring the ingredients together, you can finish up with a mixer

it should be pretty smooth

next you'll pour it into a greased & floured bundt pan

then slide it in the preheated oven and bake for about 50 min

when it comes out of the oven, let it cool in the pan for about 45 min before removing it to a cooling rack

forgot to photograph the steps, but i whipped up an icing of butter, rum, milk, vanilla, and confectioners sugar

pour it over the cake

and let it ooze

the cake was extremely moist, with a fine crumb. it was 2 days old by the time we ate it and some of the icing had soaked into the cake, which i think really enhanced the flavor and tenderness.

i did en up scraping most of the icing off because the rum in it was way too strong.  it really is better as more of a glaze if you use the rum.  if you omit the rum, a thick coating would work beautifully.

this cake was a big hit, and many of us enjoyed it for both dessert and breakfast for a few days until it was gone.

go make this.  and then eat it.

i promise you'll like it

banana rum cake.

cake ingredients

1 18.25oz package yellow cake mix

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup dark caribbean rum

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

1 cup mashed (or pureed) bananas

1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional. i don't like nuts in my cake so i pulverized mine into a pecan dust. i also used glazed pecans because they're sweet like candy)

icing ingredients

2 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 tbsp dark rum (optional)

1 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (gradually add 1/2 more to thicken the icing further if desired)

cake procedure

preheat oven to 350

grease and flour a bundt pan

combine all ingredients in a large bowl

bring together by stirring with a spoon, then beat on medium speed 2-4 min until smooth

pour into prepared bundt pan and bake 50 min

cool in the pan for 45 min before removing to a cooling rack

cool completely before icing

icing procedure

combine all ingredients except the sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth

gradually add confectioners sugar until desired consistency is reached

pour over cooled cake

eat. enjoy.