My sister requested a banana cake for her birthday ... I have never found a recipe I love so I spent the day creating one. I have come up with the following ... I hope you enjoy it as much as Thea and Charlie who got quite cross they were not allowed a third slice!
The recipe makes two, 2lb cakes. I did this because I think banana cake tastes better the day after it is cooked.
This recipe makes one cake to eat on the day and one for the following few days ...
BANANA CAKE
Ingredients
4 Mashed bananas, 4 Eggs, 250g Soften butter, 250g Self raising flour, 150g Unrefined caster sugar, 100g Dark muscovado sugar, 125g Pecans, 25ml Milk, 1 Heaped teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 Heaped teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/4 Heaped teaspoon of ground cloves, 1 Teaspoon of vanilla essence, 1 Level teaspoon of baking powder, 1 Level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
Cake Tins
2 x 2lb loaf tins, 2 x 2lb loaf tin liners
- Heat the oven to 170
- Place one, 2lb loaf tin liner, in each of the 2lb loaf tins
- How you make the cake will now vary depending on whether you have a food processor
- FOOD PROCESSOR: Place all the ingredients into a food processor and mix together until smooth, it should take about 20-30 seconds, you want the nuts to have been chopped slightly but not turned into dust, if you are worried (or like large pieces of nuts in you cake) mix all the ingredients together first and then add the nuts and blitz for an additional few seconds.
- BOWL: Cream the butter and sugar together, add the egg and milk beat again, add in the remaining ingredients to the mixture and beat well.
- Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes. When cooked the cake should be golden on the top and spring back when touched. To check it is cooked through slide a metal skewer into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked. If the skewer is covered in cake mixture it needs a few more minutes in the oven
- Once cooked remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool slightly for a couple of minutes
- After a couple of minutes remove the cakes from their tins, keeping them in the liners and transfer to a wire rack to cool
- Once cold serve with a nice cup of tea ...
Cooking notes
If you use the bowl method make sure the nuts are chopped and the banana is thoroughly mashed or they will not be distributed evenly through the mixture. In addition mix the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the flour before you add the flour to the mixture, this ensures they are both mixed evenly through the cake.
Make sure that you use soft butter for this recipe, remove from fridge at least an hour before you make the cake.
You can get loaf tin liners at any good kitchen shop.
Adapting
If you do not have, or do not want to buy the spices individually then substitute them with mixed spice.
You can also add the zest of an orange or lemon if you like citrus flavour in cake.
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