banana poundcake

i have made this twice now and learned a bit from the first time. the recipe says it's for one loaf of bread, but it went crazy and overflowed and took forever to bake and never really baked all the way through when i made it that way. so the second time around i spread it between two and it worked so much better. also, i added lemon in the recipe and made a lemon glaze that i poured over the top. this is now one of my new favorite ways to eat banana bread. very moist, and dense in a good way.

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp.
1 1/2 medium-size very ripe bananas, mashed not too smooth with a fork (3/4 c.) **i used 2 bananas
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 1/2 cups cake flour, or 2 cups plus 3 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. milk
1 T. freshly grated orange peel **i didn't use this, i used lemon juice, and also made a lemon glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice

heat oven to 350°. lightly grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan. **do two. beat butter in mixer for about 30 seconds, or until smooth. with mixer on low speed, gradually add the sugar. increase the mixer speed to high and beat until pale and fluffy. with the mixer still on high speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture is smooth and very pale and has increased in volume. beat in bananas, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. (the mixture will look curdled.) on low speed, alternately beat in the flour and milk, beating well after each addition. stir in the orange peel **or lemon juice. scrape batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. bake until the cake pulls away slightly from sides of the pan and a toothpick or fork comes out clean, 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes. (if the cake starts to brown too much after 1 hour of baking, cover it loosely with foil.) cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. carefully run a thin-bladed knife around the edges of teh cake to loosen. turn the cake out onto the rack, invert, and cool completely. **when i took them out, i immediately inverted the loaves and poked them with a fork all over and poured over the lemon glaze while hot.

the cake can be well wrapped and kept at cool room temp. or in the refrigerator up to 1 week or frozen up to 3 months.