September 8th is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a big feast in the Church. In Kerala, Catholics prepare for our Blessed Mother’s feast day by fasting or abstaining from meat for 8 days known as ‘Ettu Noyambu‘. Yesterday, I wanted to make a cake for Mama Mary’s birthday. I didn’t have any plans and began searching for ingredients in my pantry. I had some overripe Bananas in the fridge and Oats in the pantry. Decided to bake an impromptu cake to celebrate our Blessed Mother’s birthday and surprisingly it came out well.
Oatmeal Banana Squares
I tweaked the recipe I normally use for Banana Cake to include Oats to make it a tad more healthier. This cake tastes good straight out of the oven but I decided to be a little fancy and made a frosting using Yogurt and Peanut Butter. Just mix peanut butter, yogurt, honey and sugar until smooth and you have a frosting! Spread it on this lovely Banana Oatmeal Cake and you are all ready to serve it for Breakfast or as an after-school snack.
Oats and Banana Cake
I sprinkled some Coconut flakes on top of the frosting simply to enhance the looks. The recipe is simple and easy to make. Just mix everything and you are ready to go. My mom and sister tried this cake yesterday and so I am pretty confident that I can share this recipe with you all. Here are some pretty flowers for our dear Mother and the recipe for a simple and humble cake just like the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Happy Birthday Mama Mary!
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – 1 1/3 cups
- Quick Cooking Oats – 1.5 cups
- Ripe Bananas – 3 medium
- Eggs – 2
- Pure Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
- Butter – 6 tbsp
- Warm Milk – 1/2 cup
- Warm Water – 1/2 cup
- Sugar – 3/4 cup
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
- Baking Powder – 1.5 tsp
- Baking Soda -1 tsp
- Cinnamon Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Nutmeg Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp
Preparation Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan with little butter or use a non stick spray. Set aside. (I have used a non-stick baking pan while making this cake.)
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and salt. Do not skip the sifting portion because it will be really unpleasant if you bite into a lump of baking soda.
- Add oats to the bowl and whisk the dry ingredients until combined. Keep aside.
- Microwave the butter for around 30 seconds so that it melts.
- In another large bowl, mash the overripe bananas. Whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, warm water, warm milk, melted butter and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir for around 2 minutes until combined. The batter will be on the watery side.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and distribute evenly.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. I used a non-stick baking pan and baked the cake for 25 minutes and it was done.
- Remove from oven and let it cool. Enjoy!
Notes
- I prepared a simple frosting by stirring 2 tbsp Peanut Butter, 1 tbsp Yogurt, 1 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp sugar to form a smooth and thick mixture.
