A Sweet Treat: Banana Pecan Cake

If you made resolutions that involve any of the following: will power, bikinis, marathons, skinny jeans, salads.  STOP READING NOW!

And for the rest of you, let's eat cake!

I've been eying "The Girl Who Ate Everything's" recipe for banana bread bars with brown butter frosting for weeks (this recipe is all over Pinterest lately).  Today, with ripe bananas beckoning me, I succumbed.  My belly is very happy, but I think I might need to purchase some of those pajama jeans.

Here's my adaptation of the original recipe.  While the recipe was originally dubbed a "bar," it is truly more of a dense cake.  Also, if you're thinking, brown butter frosting?  Nah, that doesn't sound so good.  You are mistaken, my friends.  Try it.  Now.  You'll want to slather that deliciousness all over everything.

Ingredients:

Banana Pecan Cake:

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. plain whole milk yogurt

1/2 c. butter, melted

2 eggs

1-3/4 c. (4) ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped pecans (or walnuts, if you fancy)

1/2 c. shredded coconut

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Spray 15x10-inch jelly roll pan with Pam.  In a large bowl, beat together sugar, yogurt, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas and vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt.  Then add the dry mixture slowly into the wet mixture.  Don't over mix.  Stir in pecans and coconut.

2.  Spread batter into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  For frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a light brown and remove from heat immediately.

4.  In a large heat-proof glass bowl, add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.  Whisk in butter until smooth (thicker than a glaze, thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars. 

5.  Let the frosted bars cool for at least an hour.  Then you have my permission to eat the whole thing...