Brown Sugar Banana Coffee Cake

By: Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames

I was lucky enough to have a vacation last week. My husband and I had planned it for quite a while. It was great. I sat by the ocean (with lots of sunblock and under an umbrella...so much for the days when we didn't know better than to roast in the sun). I listened to the roar of the water, the twitter of birds, and island music. I read. I walked, I swam, I breathed. You remember how to do that, right?

In/out, repeat...

Sometimes in this busy world we forget. 

Fabulous cheese & wine shop 

Hawaiian Goose - Nene, very tame

The view on a morning walk

Anyway, I'm not back two days and I'm already having to remind myself to breathe. Why? I have deadlines...the second of A COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERY is due at the end of the week. Title: INHERIT THE WORD. For those of you trying to follow how publishing works schedule-wise, that means the book is turned in a year in advance. This book won't come out until next March. The moment I turn that in, I'll get the final-final edits for the first in the series, FINAL SENTENCE.

Breathe...

When those are turned in, I'll be working on another book and the outline for the third in the Cookbook Nook series.

Breathe...

I don't know about you, but when work and deadlines come at me fast and furious, I need sweets. There's just something about a good coffee cake and a cup of coffee that puts me at ease. I know, I should probably be focusing on fruit, and I do. I have that for breakfast and an afternoon snack, but the mid-morning pick-me-up I crave is coffee cake. I hope you'll enjoy this version. It's something I dreamed up because it has all the basics I love in a coffee cake, mixed together.

Today, take a mini-vacation. Find the time. To breathe. To laugh. To listen to the wind and the birds (if there are any around).

BANANA BROWN SUGAR & CREAM CHEESE COFFEE CAKE

Regular or gluten-free

Ingredients:

2 cups regular or Gluten-Free Baking and Pancake Mix {I used Bisquick}

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla or vanillin

2/3 cup butter, melted

2 eggs, large

1 cup cream cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 bananas, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:

Brown sugar

Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the filling ingredients and set aside.

For the batter:  Mix melted butter and sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs and beat on low.  Still beating on low, add cream cheese and vinegar.  Then add the baking mix until thoroughly mixed.

Spoon half of the batter into a greased 8” or 9” square pan.  Layer all of the filling on top of that.  Spread the rest of the batter over the filling.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. When inserted, a toothpick should come out clean. 

When cool, remove the cake from the pan and sprinkle with a generous amount of brown sugar. 

Serve warm or room temperature, plain or with whipped cream.

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You can learn more about me, Daryl by clicking this LINK. "Like" my page on Facebook and "follow" me on Twitter. And if you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list

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