Wanting to bring some comfort and joy to others during this hard time, chef Olivier Dubreuil, vice president of culinary operations at The Venetian, created a make-at-home kit for one of his family favorite recipes, banana walnut pound cake, included all the ingredients, and sent them off to his team members as a thank you during the COVID-19 shutdown.

“We hoped this kit would provide a bit of comfort during such an uncertain time,” the chef said in a statement. “To me, the smell of freshly baked cake brings up feelings of love. It brings us back to our childhood.”

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup softened butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup walnuts or chocolate chips (or both)

2 fresh eggs

4 peeled bananas

Process

Mix together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract

Add eggs and mix until smooth

Add whole bananas and mix until mashed

Finish by adding the rest of the ingredients and mix together

Pour mixture into a standard loaf pan covered with parchment paper

Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees until a golden color (time may lightly vary due to oven calibration)

Chef’s advice

The darker the bananas, the more flavor you will get.