Old Fashioned Banana Cake

From the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network website:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/old-fashioned-banana-cake-recipe.html

Cut and pasted for convenience below:

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Walnut halves, for decorating (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting:
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (1/2 pound)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the bananas, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on low speed until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and orange zest. Mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, turn out onto a cooling rack, and cool completely.

Spread the frosting thickly on the top of the cake and decorate with walnut halves, if using.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Mix the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed until just combined. Don't whip! Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Yield: frosting for one 9-inch cake.

This cake was pretty tasty.  To me, it was banana bread with cream cheese icing.  As I prefer carrot cake with icing and banana bread plain, I won't make this again.  

However, I took this cake to work and left it in the lunch room with a note - asking people to leave their feedback comments in a jar.  The problem was, I had it in my office for an hour before it hit the lunch room...and my team ate 75% of it.  LOL.  

There were 3 comments left behind:

"Om nom nom!"

"OMG!! Love this cake!  I'm going to have a second piece when no one is looking!"

"I was too late.  :(   "

The comment jar in the lunch room was just fun.  I am going to do that again...  :)