Each week in the Genius Recipes column—frequently with input from readers—Food52's Creative Director and dedicated recipe explorer Kristen Miglore discovers dishes that transform your cooking approach.
What resembles a banana cake, tastes somewhat like one, and shares the same ingredient list, yet turns out lighter and springier—and feels strangely odd to prepare? This astonishing, super-fluffy layer cake uses no bananas at all, just two banana peels. Don't be alarmed! Have faith in me, in the enthusiastic fans on our team, and most of all in Lindsay-Jean Hard, a former Food52 editor of six years who recently authored her excellent debut cookbook, Cooking with Scraps (released October 30th—preorder it immediately).
During her long tenure penning a column on resourceful cooking at Food52, Lindsay-Jean mastered the art of turning the less appealing—and especially the unfairly maligned—portions of produce into tasty, budget-friendly, zero-waste components.
Similar to potato skins, used coffee grounds, and artichoke leaves, banana peels appear to be inedible leftovers only because of our long-standing habit. Yet they contain plenty of moisture, airiness, and a hint of banana taste—just chop, boil for ten minutes, and puree until smooth.
Each clever technique in Cooking with Scraps comes down to knowledge, not hard work—like having a reliable guide explain how to use items that most recipes insist we throw away without question.
“Once I discovered they were edible, I figured they could be cooked, blended, and employed just like any fruit puree in baking,” Lindsay-Jean explained when I asked how on earth she realized banana peels could be used in cakes. “Plus, I already knew my grandmother’s banana cake was flawless, so that seemed like the perfect place to begin.”
I fully get it if you're still stunned from earlier. Honestly, our initial test of this recipe was driven largely by dark curiosity, alongside testing some guaranteed successes: Lindsay-Jean's incredibly tasty leek green (leek greens, at last!) cacio e pepe and everything-spiced pumpkin seeds. Yet once I personally experienced the lightness, complemented by Grandma G.G.'s brown sugar frosting, and witnessed the enthusiastic responses from every sampler at Food52's office, I realized we had to spread the news about this cake.
We ought to quit being astonished at how many unusual ingredients can integrate smoothly into cakes, enhancing their richness, lightness, and quality. Just within this column, beets, eggplant, and quinoa have performed admirably, and while researching Genius Desserts, I encountered nearly everything thinkable: lettuce, jicama, potatoes, sauerkraut. (Any others to add?)
As with any surprising hidden component, it's unwise to keep this one completely under wraps due to potential allergies—specifically, people allergic to latex may also react to banana peels, among other triggers. Yet I doubt you can resist shouting about this cake from the highest places.
Yields one two-layer cake
- The peels of two thoroughly ripe bananas, after trimming off the stem and very bottom (approximately 100 grams) – refer to note below
- Half a cup of unsalted butter, softened, along with extra for greasing the pans
- One and a half cups of granulated sugar
- Two large eggs, separated
- Half a cup of buttermilk
- One and two-thirds cups of cake flour (210 grams), plus additional flour (any kind) for dusting the pans
- One teaspoon of baking soda
- One-quarter teaspoon of baking powder
- Half a teaspoon of fine sea salt
- Half a cup of unsalted butter
- One cup packed (220 grams) of light or dark brown sugar
- One-quarter cup of milk (2% or higher fat content)
- One and three-quarters to two cups of powdered sugar (220 to 250 grams), sifted
View Recipe
Photographs by Jenny Huang
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