Brown Butter Banana Walnut Cake

After mysteriously being locked out of my account after resetting browser history (can you tell I'm bad with computers?) I once again tune it to share this unassuming, humble-looking but delicious banana cake recipe.

I accidentally added too much sugar to a banana bread recipe, but it still turned out delicious and very worthy of sharing. It's made with browned butter instead of oil for an added layer of nutty flavour, and uses a combination of sugar and golden syrup to give it a twist. I also add plenty of cinnamon and something that I've only recently discovered... the mysterious "mixed essence" of the Caribbean, which contains a variety of essences and flavourings to lend a unique taste to baked goods. Of course, you can just as well use vanilla, but the mixed essence is interesting enough to seek out at your local Caribbean specialty store (I got mine in Kensington!). It disappeared way too fast for me to take better photos, so you'll have to take my word for it- this is an unusually light banana cake, more fluffy than dense, so don't expect it to be like a traditional pound-cakey banana bread. It actually reminds me more of the walnut cakes sold in Toronto's Koreatown, with the added flavour of bananas and browned butter.

This recipe made about 16 pieces of cake for me, in 2 small round pans, but you can also bake it in a couple of loaf pans or a large square pan. Serve with milk or coffee for a fantastic pick-me-up.

Brown Butter Banana Walnut Cake
Adapted from Scientifically Sweet

1 2/3 C. All purpose flour
1/4 Tsp. Salt
3/4 Tsp. Baking soda
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
2-3 Ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 C. mash)
1 C. Sugar + 2 TBSP golden syrup, or 1 C. golden brown sugar (or 1 C. fine cane sugar) Note: the original recipe used half as much sugar, so you can certainly get away with reducing this!
1 Tsp. Mixed essence or vanilla extract
1 Egg
1/2 C. (115 g.) Butter 
1 TBSP Lemon juice
1 C. Walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 170℃ for a deep pan (like a loaf pan) or 180℃ for a shallow pan. Grease the pans you plan to use, lining the bottom with additionally-buttered parchment paper to prevent sticking. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook while stirring frequently until the butter begins to turn brown and smell toasty. You will see small brown pieces in the butter- these are caramelized milk solids, and you can leave them be. Once the butter is about the colour of a hazelnut, remove from heat and let cool.

Mix the butter, sugar and syrup (if using). Mix in the banana, egg, essence/extract and lemon juice until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the walnuts and spoon the batter into your pans, evening the top with a spatula.

Bake for 40-55 minutes, checking frequently in that time- once a fork or toothpick poked inside comes out clean, remove from the oven and let cool 15 minutes before cutting into pieces.