it's a funny thing, the way the atmosphere of a place has the ability to alter the way we look at food.  i baked this banana-date tea cake from the tartine cookbook (seen here) to bring to camp for my grandma's birthday, and when it emerged from the oven, cradled in browned parchment and topped with brûléed bananas, it looked utterly french.  cut to camp, where i ate a slice off of a dixie plate while wearing sweats and fending off a drunk cousin who likened the confection to a slab of meatloaf.  

while the cake no longer looked like the elegant version of itself that it was the night before, the slice i ate from my stool at the island tasted just like the piece i slivered from the loaf hot out of the oven: dense and subtly sweet from the bananas, with the contrasting textures of the moist crumb, crisp walnuts, and chewy, honey-flavored dates. 

put more simply, i'm passing on the recipe, so dig in.

Banana-Date Tea Cake
All purpose flour: 1 cup + 2 Tbsp.
Cornstarch: 2 Tbsp
Cinnamon: 1 tsp
Baking powder: 2 tsp
Baking soda: 1 tsp
Bananas, very ripe: 3 medium
Large eggs: 2
Vanilla extract: 1 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter: 6 Tbsp
Sugar: 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp
Walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped: 1 cup
Dates, pitted and coarsely chopped: 1 3/4 cup
Topping
Banana: 1 medium
Sugar: 2 Tbsp
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom of 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda and stir to mix. Set aside. Peel the bananas and place in a second bowl. Mash with a fork until you have a chunky puree. Add the eggs, vanilla and salt to the bananas and stir to mix well. Set aside.
In a third bowl, beat butter until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and beat until light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Slowly add banana mixture and beat until incorporated. Again scrape down sides of bowl, and then mix for another 30 seconds to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.
Using the rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into banana mixture. Fold in nuts and dates if using. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix again, making sure all is fully incorporated.
Transfer batter to pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Top the cake with last peeled banana. Cut the banana lengthwise, then place each half cut side down and cut in half lengthwise, to yield 4 long slices. Lay slices on top of batter. Sprinkle with the sugar.
Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan, on a wire rack for about 20 minutes and then invert onto the rack, turn right side up and let cool completely. Serve cake at room temperature. It will keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for about 1 week.