Hi rose. I just made this banana cake with your modification. It was superb. I just put the the remainder of some chocolate ganache on top and it was fabulous. My husband is still raving about it. I have had your Cake Bible for about 25 years. Still great. Many thanks - love this website,

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hi Astrid, i am not an expert of the rose factor. but i think it will apply, for butter cakes and for "butter" cakes which part of the butter is replaced with oil.

what i am saying, is that the rose factor won't work for oil cakes such as chiffons, where whipped egg aeration is also part of the leavening factor.

and, the general rule, is that oil and butter AREN't interchangeable! if it works for the banana cake, then it has been tested. i suspect it works with oil because the bananas contain fiber thus helping with cake structure which changes when using butter vs oil.

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Thank you for the recipe, the recipe looks the same as the banana cake in heavenly cakes book.
Only it is made with butter instead of oil, and i realy like the oil in the cake. I have made the butter version once but it sank, i don`t realy know what i did wrong. And the oil version came out great the first time and it is so moist.

Correct me if i am wrong but the baking powder adjustment isn`t that for butter cakes or does this work for oil cakes as well??

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Astrid, I havent tested this cake on a 12"

u may need to adjust the amount of baking powder
according to the rose factor chapter explained on Cake Bible.

Rose's Heavenly Cakes has a very nice 12" recipe:

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2009/06/hector_bakes_his_own_birthday.html

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Oeps double message sorry.

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Hi Hector,

Thank you so much for your answer.
I have another question, i have to make a 12 inch cake is it possible to double or triple this banana cake recipe??

thank you.

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Hi Hector,

Thank you so much for your answer.
I have another question, i have to make a 12 inch cake is it possible to double or triple this banana cake recipe??

thank you.

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Astrid, GOOD question. the answer is NO, but i would go by taste. white sugar (regular) contains no molasses. light contains some, dark contains A LOT.

molasses imparts a characteristic taste, and i tell you, from zero to medium to a lot, it changes tastes dramatically. some desserts love it, some don't, can be overpowering.

molasses also makes things bake darker, and burn sooner. it also affects texture.

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Dear Rose,

Is it possible to use light or dark brown sugar instead of regular sugar or a combination of both.

If so does the use of the light or dark brown sugar make any changes to the cake?

Thank you best regards,
Astrid

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hi woody! thanks so much for the tip! its a great help :) happy to have found this site and the cake bible book, i immediately bought it and as i read through it, its like i can hear ms rose's soft voice telling the story of each cake to me :)

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Hi Crystal,
If you can get buttermilk, you can also substitute home made creme fraiche.

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thanks mr hector! ill try that. by the way, i love your plum & blueberry upside down cake, looks mouthwatering :) i hope to try that cake too but with a tropical fruit instead (since plum & blueberry are not usual here in the philippines) super thanks! :)

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oh crystal, glad of your success. u can use whole milk yogurt.

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hi ms rose! im crystal from the philippines :) this is the first recipe i tried from the cake bible book and i wasn't dissapointed. actually ive been searching for the best banana cake recipe and this is the BEST banana cake i ever had and my family agrees to it :) we all love fruit/vegetable based cake because of their density and flavor. however my question is what can i substitute with the sour cream? since its not always available in our pantry because of its short shelf life. im thinking all purpose cream with some acid added to it like pineapple juice or vinegar? will that give me the same texture & flavor? many thanks, crystal :)

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frank, my favorite banana layer cake is the tropical wedding cake in rose's heavenly cakes. the top tier is 8"

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2009/06/hector_bakes_his_own_birthday.html

it doesn't get more level than this! happy baking.

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I love the look of a layer cake and want to make the cordon rose banana cake. Could the batter be divided and baked in two 8 inch layers, then filled and frosted with the sour cream ganache? Thanks for any suggestions and help. I appreciate it.

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Here i am again,

Could you recomend several cake`s that i could use under fondan.

I am looking for vanilla, chocolate, carrot, coconut, flavours.

Thank you again, best regards,

Astrid (from the Netherlands)

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Dear Rose,

I am going to try to bake your famous Banana Cake, may i ask is this cake strong enough to hold fondant.

Thank you so much, best regards.

Astrid (from the Netherlands)

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me too! I've just had 4 tastings for rhc banana ref cake and it is incredible. the taste is intensely banana. try it with ganache!

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I have made the banana cake in RHC many times. Every time I make it, I get comments like, "Phenomenal" and my cake is the only one completely gone while the other cakes have a slice taken out of them.

Thank You Rose!

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Hi everyone-is the recipe for the banana cake in TCB available on the website? I was planning on making the banana cake from Rose's Heavenly Cakes but then saw this change, and thought I should make this one instead. Is it possible to substitute some of the oil for butter in the recipe in Rose's Heavenly Cakes?

Thank you!

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Hi Rose,

My name is Jessica, and I live in Jakarta- Indonesia.

I have been a fan of your cake bible book, especially the cordon banana cake! it's awesome!!

I am planning to make the buttermilk country cake, and I just realized that they dont really have buttermilk in Indonesia.

Is there anything to substitute the buttermilk?

I have searched through the internet and it is said : for 2/3cup of milk, add 1 spoon of vinegar and bring it to boil. let it cool. and ready to use.

Is that do-able for your recipe though?

Thanksss
Jessica

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Mine too! Gone in hours, I have 2boys and a husband! Wonderful cake.

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Hi, Ms. Rose,
I have really enjoyed your book the Cake Bible it has been in my Kitchen for the last 10+ years. I think I have tried every cake in it! Wonderful just wonderful. I do have the Pie & Pastry too!
I have a question,I always follow ingredients and instructions. I want to know can I subsitute Pastry Flour for Cake Flour? I purchase the 25# bag and all I use it for are my cookie! Thanks for your time and sharing your knowledge and gift.

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Here are not good pics of the end result, but thought I'd show you how the 6" and 9" tiers look - with the off-centre tiering, not as nice as the 12" and 8" cakes as shown in the book and in Hector's birthday cake. After calculating the volume of batter I needed using Hector's chart below, I saw that the batter for the 12" cake would cover it, so I just did that, and baked one 6" and 9" at a time, and made cupcakes with the balance.

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/index_ee.php/forums/viewthread/2900/

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Thanks so much Hector and Rose! How generous of you to post that chart, which I shall use the chart to figure out proportions. Hope I can get good pics to post of the end result :-)

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Daphne, good question. I assume layer cakes using baking powder such as the tropical wedding cake, do not require any ingredient adjustments from 6 to 9" diameters (6, 7, 8, 9). just scale all the ingredients to fill the pan. baking times will change to less minutes for smaller layers or more for larger layers.

here is my volume chart for round cake pans, 2" deep:

diameter   height   volume         volume
2r         h         PI()*(r^2)*h   US
in         in         cu in             cups
       
3         2         14.1             0.9
4         2         25.1             1.7
5         2         39.3             2.7
6         2         56.5             3.9
7         2         77.0             5.3
8         2       100.5             6.9
9         2       127.2             8.8
10         2       157.1             10.8
11         2       190.1             13.1
12         2       226.2             15.7
13         2       265.5             18.3
14         2       307.9             21.3 

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How would I rescale the Banana Wedding cake recipe for 9" and 6" tiers? I tried looking up the Rose Factor chart in TCB but I don't think the Rose Factor scaling works in this recipe - at least not when I checked the proportions for the 8" tier in RHC. Planning to do this over the next couple of days if I can figure this out, for a weekend birthday party.

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Sounds good. The Cordon Rose Banana Cake is one of my favorites from The Cake Bible.

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Sorry -- where I put "full 1/4 c.," I meant to put "full 1/2 c." of sour cream.

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Absolutely. I made it as a layer cake (two 9x2 round layers) with great success. I used the full amount of sour cream. It was amazing!

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I use the full 1/4 c. of sour cream in the Cordon Rose -- next to the Chestnut Sand Cake, it's the moistest cake I've ever made!! It makes the best banana bread or banana cake I've ever had!!!

That said, I haven't made the RHC version to compare moistness. I suppose I'll now have to make it using the new method for comparison, but it's hard to imagine anything beating-out the Cordon Rose Banana Cake for banana perfection!!! (I made it as a layer cake, and everyone went absolutely crazy over it -- completely off their nuts -- and rightly so, as it is an amazing cake.)

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Matha, cake structure and texture depend a lot on pan size. i believe each cake recipe has been written for a specific pan size and shape. if you are missing the pan information and are not happy with the results, i would try the following once: a standard loaf pan, a 10-12 cup bundt tube pan, and a 9x2" round layer pan. also, as a general rule of thumb, cake batter should fill the pan between 1/2 to 2/3 full; and moreover: and under filled or over filled pan also matters.

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It is a vanilla cake from Southern Living . I got the recipe from my sister, I forgot to note down the pan size so I baked mine in a loaf pan. Thanks for the tips.

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Matha, what cake r u trying to half? Pan size (usually diameter) must be reduced, as well as baking time.

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Sounds like a really good idea. I haven't tried the original Cordon Rose Banana Cake yet but when I do, I'll try this recommendation. It sounds as though it will be light and moist

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Whenever I halve a cake recipe it is a disaster, I don't know if I am using the wrong pan or it is the baking time that is inaccurate. I was wondering if there is an accurate way to halve a cake recipe and still bake a perfect cake.

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CORRECTION, the banana wedding cake uses butter, not oil. it is delicious, explosively banana, and moist.

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/HectorHawaii4-0_i_tropicalCake.html

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This is in reference to the banana cake in the Cake Bible, not the newer Heavenly Cakes.

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Oh dear. I was hoping to make it this morning for an event tomorrow and I don't have the new book yet! What are the odds I could get the new banana wedding cake recipe so I can make it today? (And then of course I better go out and purchase your new book right afterwards, as I already know I need it now!)
Thanks so much!

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Is the Cordon Rose cake sturdy enough to make a layer cake (ie for a wedding cake or a layered birthday cake)??

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I made this banana cake from the Cake Bible using only 8 tablespoons of butter (and no oil) by mistake (I read 8 instead of 10), and it still turned out moist and wonderful. Everybody raved. It was moist and soft. I guess it was moist even though I used two tablespoons less butter and no oil because we ate it only a few hours after baking and I monitored it very closely so as not to overbake it. I also sprinkled it with a tiny bit of water (not a syrup, just plain water) and it was great. I can't wait to make this cake again, but now without any mistakes....

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Great idea, Rose. Thanks for letting us know that that works. I think combining butter and oil gives you the best of both worlds. I especially like to this do for chocolate butter cakes with great success.

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