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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Banana Crumb Cake (Cuca de banana)

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 cuca de banana 3

 

I know I haven't been around here a lot lately, but I have good reasons for that. The best one is that I got a new job. It's a job I believe it's perfect for me, but I will talk more about it at another time.

For now, I would like to share this recipe with you: Banana crumb cake. I learned this recipe back home when I was studying in the south, where the German influence is very strong and therefore there is plenty of German dishes. I suppose the Germans originally made it with apples, but bananas are definitely more "Brazilian". There are two ways I do this cake, this one is what I call the tall version, layered with banana filling. There is another type of "cuca" (I have no idea where the name came from. If anyone out there knows, please share!) that is's more simple and has no layers, it's normally baked in a shallow square pan. The second one resembles more the types of crumb cakes I find here in the U.S. I hope you like this one. According to Andrew, it goes very well with a glass of milk.

On another note, I wanted to thank everyone that joined my Facebook page so far. You are welcome to post questions or comments over there too.

cuca de banana 2

Banana Crumb Cake Recipe:

makes one 9 inch round cake

You will need:

 

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup of brown sugar

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

 

For the cake:

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 cups of cake flour

1 tablespoon of baking powder

4 bananas, peeled and sliced

3/4 cups of milk

 

Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan.

Make the crumb topping by mixing all the ingredients with a fork until you have  pea size crumbs. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and the baking powder together. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the yolks, butter and sugar on medium-high until it gets pale and creamy. Add the vanilla. Turn speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture and the milk, alternating both and finishing with the milk. Fold in the egg whites into the batter.

Pour half of the batter in the prepared pan. Make a layer using half of the bananas and half of the crumb mixture. Pour the remaining batter on top of it and repeat the layer of banana and crumb topping (crumb topping last).

Bake it at 350 until the toothpick tester comes out clean. This cake takes me about 1 hour to bake, so be patient. Cool it for 15 minutes before slicing it.

 

Enjoy it!

 cuca de banana slice

 

cuca de banana1 A spring form pan will make it easier to keep the crumb topping intact and give you a nicer presentation,  but it's not necessary as you can just take slices straight from the pan.
   
   

 

cuca de banana

13 comments:

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Wow, that is some banana cake! A king amongst banana cakes!

I must get a cake stand, it makes such a difference to the presentation.

Deseree said...

That cake looks delicious! And I 2nd Jacquelines comment on the presentation, I really need to get myself a cake stand too. A cake on a regular dinner plate just doesn't look as good.

Unknown said...

So pretty and delicious looking. I love it.

Gattina Cheung said...

oh my... breath-taking! your artistic hands can turn a simple cake to an eye-stopper! And congrats on your new job, hope you enjoy it!

Lisa said...

WOW, this is one my favorite types of cakes..just say banana and streusel, and my mouth waters. What an absolutely beautiful cake you turned out. Next time, save me a piece!

Anonymous said...

Comment re "cuca"
German word for cake (not a flan, but a cake) is Kuchen (koooken). So I wonder if it is a derivative?

A flan type of cake is "torte".

Wikipedia has Cuca being a brazilian "bogeyman"...not sure your cake is that! Looks yummy.

Rita said...

Hi Anonymous
You are probably righ about the derivation of the word from the German language, this is very typical from the German-populated parts of Brazil. The Cuca you found at Wikipedia is a fictional character from an old tv show/book. I haven't thought about it in ages, you just took me on a trip to my childhood!

Anonymous said...

This cake sounds delicious!

Lori said...

That looks like a real good coffee cake!

belle said...

I recently started my own cooking blog at http://kookingaffair.blogspot.com.

You recipes are great and the pictures are so helpful.

alice said...

Beautiful job and lovely pictures!

Katia Vissers said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Katia Vissers said...

Katia Vissers said...
I grew up in Santa Catarina, South of Brazil and I love bake Cuca banana cake, the taste of that is fantastic!!! Your recipe is good! Thanks!!!

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