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Susan Connors of Scranton's Banana Cake. Jake Danna Stevens / Staff Photographer
Summer means it’s time to go bananas.
Nothing tastes more like sunny weather than a sweet slice of banana cake.
Luckily for Local Flavor, Scranton resident Susie Blum Connors has a perfect recipe.
“I make it a lot,” she said during a recent afternoon inside the home she shares with her husband of almost 28 years, former Scranton Mayor Jim Connors. “I’ll make it more this time of year, because when the weather gets warmer, bananas ripen faster.”
Connors obtained the recipe from a cookbook that originally belonged to her mom, Fern Blum. Her family members — and especially her five granddaughters, Maggie, Quinn and Tricia Hemphill and twins Aylah and Avery Connors — look forward to the treat.
Connors, who earned a $50 grocery gift card thanks to her Banana Cake recipe, follows the original directions pretty closely. An unexpected change came one day when she didn’t have sour cream on hand. She substituted plain yogurt and thinks it made a sweet difference, but she noted that bakers can use the original ingredient, too. She also opts to serve the cake without any icing.
“I think the taste is good on its own,” she said.
Banana Cake definitely was a hit. It had a fluffy, light consistency, which made it all too easy to eat more than one slice. The cake would make for a perfect treat on a warm afternoon.
The delicious taste of Connors’ cake came as no surprise, as she won the Local Flavor contest in 2011 for her recipe for Lokshen Kugel, aka Noodle Pudding. She also makes Rugelach, Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake, dozens of kinds of cookies and Jewish Apple Cake.
When it comes to sweets, her family knows where to go. When her granddaughters, some of whom live next door, have ripe bananas, they always send them over to her. They know best that Connors’ Banana Cake isn’t tied to any one season.
“It doesn’t matter the weather,” she said. “I make it all year round.”
Contact the writer:
gmazur@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9127;
@gmazurTT on Twitter
Susie Blum Connors’ Banana Cake
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven 350 F. Grease the bottom of a 3-inch-by-12-inch oblong pan.
Dissolve baking soda in yogurt.
Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs and yogurt mixture, and beat well. Add mashed bananas, flour, salt and vanilla. Mix well.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes to one hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/lifestyles/banana-cake-recipe-passed-down-in-mom-s-cookbook-1.2338899