9 x 13

I made this over Memorial Day weekend. I'm calling it glorified banana bread, but really, it's vanilla bean banana cake. Turns out my sweet roommate doesn't like bananas (I already knew that), and one of my nearest and dearest is allergic to half the ingredients in it (I knew that too). But that didn't stop me from up-sizing to a 9 x 13 -inch pan. In my defense, I purposely didn't make the cream cheese frosting that was supposed to go with it.

It had been the best of weekends...and the worst of weekends. 

...Beautiful California friends came to visit, great meals were had, including free champagne at the Edgewater (best of times)

...I tend to be the 3rd-wheel, 5th-wheel, 19th-wheel, what have you, with my married friends and sometimes tears are shed (worst of times)

But then I spent a perfect day with Korinne and Allie, daytime drinking on Alki, window-shopping at the Junction, real shopping at Nordstrom, and watching P.S. I Love You...which is when this cake/bread found its existence in the world. And my heart melted.

Basically what I'm trying to say is...when life hands you rotting bananas (literally or figuratively), make this recipe.

Glorified Banana Bread

Inspired by this recipe.

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup soft butter
• a little over 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla 
• 1 1/2 cups soy creamer OR half & half  
  

Grease 9 x 13 pan. Even if you're alone—it's okay. Preheat oven to 275° (I know that seems low to many of you, but baking is about trust...so trust me). Mash bananas along with 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice in a small bowl. Cream butter and sugar together in a medium bowl with a hand mixer. Sift in flour, baking soda and salt on top of the mixture. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine creamer and remaining teaspoon of lemon, and toss all that in too. Now incorporate the banana mixture. Pour batter into the pan—yep the 9 x 13 one. Bake for one hour. As soon as it's done, stick it, uncovered, in the freezer for up to an hour. I lasted about five minutes before I wanted to try it so badly that I just gave up and took it out. This last step just serves to make the cake-I-mean-bread extremely moist.