Happy new year! How are you all holding up? Over here in the Homan home, December really tried hard to take me out, and probably Dustin along with me. We had sick kids, a sick mommy, work deadlines, the Christmas hustle, and a trip to Oregon with said sick kids, along with all the normal things (what do you even mean “cook dinner”?). It was a wild ride, and I am very, very glad to be cruising into January and, hopefully, a little downtime.

And face-first into this lovely little snack cake. If you’ve been hanging around for a while, you’ll know I swear by this snack cake mix. You can make six packets in a go, and each packet makes a simple one-bowl cake. It is the easiest baked dessert ever, and I always have a packet or two in the pantry.

Banana walnut is just the latest flavor in the snack cake category here. You can also check out the double chocolate, applesauce, and pumpkin streusel versions, because they are pretty rockin’ too.

I’ve made this one a few times, but have never shared it on the blog. This is the perfect recipe for when you only have one overripe banana. Two or three will make banana bread, but one just sits there until you throw it away – or you make this. This happens in my family a lot.

The cake itself has a dense, moist crumb studded with crunchy walnuts. I always reserve a few walnuts to put on the top because it looks pretty, and everyone knows that pretty food tastes the best. The flavor reminds me a lot of banana bread, but slightly sweeter. I guess that’s why we call it a cake!