i have a request for a banana cake, no nuts, no coconut, not cake mixes. bride says she will pay more for a "from scratch banana cake" Any suggestions?
I agree with mxpark you can start with a cake mix and add banana pudding . Very moist and flavorful. There are all kind of thing you can do to doctor a mix and people can't tell you started from a mix. I made a cake for a friend for a birthday. They wanted to know the recipe for the cake. When I told them it was just a BC French Vanilla Cake mix they were totally surprised. First they normally didn't care for white cake and was so suprised by flavor and how moist the cake was. I have had several orders from them after that first cake. I would say experiment and see what you think 
There is definitely a difference between the appearance of a boxed mix banana cake and a scratch banana cake. The scratch banana cake darker in spots, because the bananas continue to oxidize (turn black) in the oven, as there is no acid added to retard this.
Also, to me there is a distinct difference in the smell of a boxed banana cake mix and scratch. They both smell like banana, but boxed mixes smell more like banana - and the artificial vanilla scent that comes from boxed mixes, even with pudding added, is a dead giveaway.
I tried doing some banana mini-cakes for Christmas two years ago, and thought I could get away with boxed mix. I ended up throwing them out and starting over with a scratch batter.
I say charge her $5 per serving, and give her what she wants. You do not know how knowledgeable she is about cakes, and if she is a connoisseur of banana cake, which I am guessing she is, since she requested it, she will know the difference.
But that's just my personal experience and opinion speaking.
Theresa 
Hey I found a recipe on this site Banana loaf cake 2. It uses a mix and bananas. I have never used this recipe but you could try it and see what you think. You can omit the nuts if they don't want nuts. I am a cake mix doctor person. I Know scratch can be good but I am for simple but good. This works for me. I hope this can help. Like I said I have not tried this recipe but I personally would try it. I hope this can help you
That sounds like a much better alternative than a box mix alone. Thanks for doing the research, Kay.
Theresa
I use this recipe when asked for banana cake, and it has always had rave reviews. It makes about 5 1/2 cups batter. Hope that helps!
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3 large bananas)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla or banana extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare your pan/s as normal. Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, mashed bananas, butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until mixture is well blended. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into banana mixture; beat until well blended. Pour into prepared pan/s.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 - 30 minutes depending on your pan size. Cool cake in pan/s on racks 10 minutes. Run a palatte knife around pan to loosen if necessary and turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.
OK--so here's a silly question...what frosting would you use? I was thinking chocolate buttercream, but I don't really know. What does everyone think? Also, what about filling?
I just did a banana cake for my SIL b-day in september. There's a huge difference in taste between scratch and mix. I would suggest a less sweet buttercream, and fill it with the buttercream too. I have a recipe if you want it. Just send me a PM and I'll give it to you.
Mmmmmm, I made a banana cake with chocolate pudding filling and chocolate buttercream icing. YUMMY! But I LOVE chocolate and banana together.
Pam
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1650-Surprise-Banana-Cake.html
This is my Dh favorite cake, and I make it quite often for orders. I actually made it today for a bake sale with chocolate ganche icing. It looks quite yummy. I can TOTALY tell the difference between boxed banana cake, and scratch banana cake. The conistancy is totally different.
Kelly
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