The humble banana, a fruit that is enjoyed all over the world for its yummy sweetness and touted as rich in vitamins and minerals. When in abundance, we usually cannot resist buying more than what we need and end up with a bunch of extremely ripe and brown fruit.
This ends up being whipped into a lovely concoction which is known by many names: banana loaf, banana bread, or most popularly banana cake.
Whether one or the other is a misnomer for this universally enjoyed treat, that is not our main concern. Because you might still end up with a plenty of those as well.
Would it be reasonable to stock up on bananas while they are in season, bake them into cakes, then store them in a freezer to be enjoyed for a later date? Will they taste fresh or stale? What are the challenges we face if we want to freeze our premade banana cake? Let’s find all the answers below!
Freezing Banana Cake
Are you going bananas whether or not you could freeze your banana cake? Here are some very simple instructions you need to follow to successfully store extra banana cake portions. Because, yes, you can freeze banana cake!
Consumption Rate
No, this is not an economics class. All you have to do is determine how much banana cake your family can consume in the next two days. Store it in a clean, dry place in an airtight container, so as not to dry the cake out.
We usually store it in the refrigerator to have it last longer. It never does, though…
The rest of the loaves or slices that you bake will need to go to the freezer.
Determine Future Consumption
Nope, this is still not an economics class, but you now have to give a projection on how your pre-baked banana cakes will be consumed.
If you have absolute power on what gets out of the freezer and you decide that banana cakes will be served for all as a dessert after meals, then consider storing them as whole loaves.
If you feel like some hungry teenagers might rifle through the stocks and raid the freezer, best to store them in half loaves so there will be enough to go around and share.
However, if you want to pop a slice into your bag for the drive to work or if the husband wants a slice for the midnight snack (and strictly one one!) then bag your banana cake to be frozen in slices.
The Banana Cake Freezing Process
So, you have now portioned your banana cakes accordingly so that you needed take out a whole loaf if you simply want a slice. The rules of thumb when freezing your banana cake:
- Make sure the banana cake loaves and slices are completely cooled.
- In freezing a banana cake, our main enemy is moisture.
We want to make sure our banana cake does not get dry on the countertop while in the freezer, it mustn’t get moist. Either way, we will be needing airtight containers/wrapping.
You can use aluminum foil or cling wrap and store in zip top bags. In order to make sure that absolutely no moisture gets in, make sure that the foil or wrap covers all the sides adequately. Double wrap the portion before popping it in a freezer-safe zip-top bag or container.
Make sure all air is pushed out before you seal. Do position your banana cake loaves and slices in areas where they will not be squished to a banana pancake. Please ascertain that the labels are visible so you don’t need to unload the whole fridge just to see when it was baked.
Follow these simple methods and you can avoid freezer burn, allowing for storage of your banana cake up to four months.
Many attest that properly frozen, a banana cake can last for longer, but in my household or most homes that I know, these yummy babies are not left alone for long.
Reminders to Help Keep Frozen Banana Cakes Appealing
- Always check your freezer for adequate space first. You don’t want to end up serving lopsided banana cakes on the account that it was pressed too much into the frozen puff pastry. Nor would it be nice if the cake slices came out not smelling like banana because it had a smelly neighbor inside the freezer.
- This can’t be reiterated enough – make sure your cakes are completely cooled before wrapping them or popping them in the freezer. We don’t want any condensation inside our sealed wraps that will result in freezer burn.
- Freezing is best for plain banana cakes – the ones without frosting, filling, nuts, or any other mutant and variant of the basic recipes.
- If you are making more than one batch of banana cake and making them on different dates, make sure to label each block when it was baked so you can take them out on first-in, first-out (FIFO) system. Yes, that was accounting terminology.
How to defrost banana cake?
It wouldn’t be complete if we skipped how to properly thaw your frozen banana cake portions.
Sure you can pop it in the microwave, but knowing how different appliances may have different settings, here’s a KISS (Keeping It Sweetly Simple) way to end up with fresh banana cake from the freezer.
Here’s how to properly defrost a banana cake, depending on the quantity:
For Individual Slices: A single serve banana cake slice would just need to be on a clean surface such as the kitchen countertop or table for 20 to 30 minutes.
If you want to slightly warm your slice you can pop it in the toaster or heat the sides in a sandwich maker. And sure, a 20-30 second stint in the microwave will also do.
For Half-A-Loaf Portions: You will need the banana cake half-loaf removed from its wrapping and freezer container. It will take around 2 hours for it to completely defrost.
For Full Loaves: Around 4 hours of sitting idly, unwrapped on the table or countertop is sufficient to thaw a full banana cake loaf.
For the impatient and in case of emergencies (surprise guests included), you can pop a loaf wrapped in foil in the oven and bake it slowly at 350°F in your regular oven. Check it regularly until it is ready to use.
This isn’t the best method though, as the center of the loaf will usually remain cold – or if it doesn’t, the crust will be over-baked or get too dry.
It’s still a stretch, but then you can practice your conversation and entertaining skills. Or if, you’re alone, you can meditate on the saying “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” Particularly so if it results to a delicious slice of banana cake.
Give in to the Temptation of Banana Panic Buying!
When it’s the time of the year when bananas are aplenty, the fruit on the kitchen countertop seems to go “poof” fast as each person tends to gobble more than one banana down.
You’re left with the darkened stub of the bunch and no bananas for yourself. As the days pass, you swear that on your next trip to the farmers’ market, you’re going to buy an extra bunch or two.
It’s puzzling how quickly our family members switch their allegiance from enjoying bananas regularly and switching to other fruits and snacks, leaving you with overripe bananas.
And since you bought so much more than what you needed, you’ll end up making more loaves than you can finish! Do you wrap them and give them away as gifts? Not if you don’t want to! This is when your freezer becomes your best friend. So, take out that go-to recipe and start baking!
Conclusion
Yes, you can freeze your banana cake! You just have to make a bunch of them and make sure that you actually have any left to freeze!