This is my #1 go-to cake recipe for all occasions. It's always a crowd-pleaser, not sure anyone ever turns down banana cake! My favourite icing for this cake is chocolate cream cheese buttercream which I've provided here, but you can also use Swiss meringue buttercream or American buttercream. In the picture I was playing around with plain meringue.
This is a big cake that I usually bake in 2 x 20cm tins and sandwich them together with icing and caramel sauce in the middle. If you don't have 2 tins, you can halve the recipe and bake in 1 tin. Or bake one very big cake and cook it for slightly longer (check it every 10 minutes after the 30 minute mark).
Cake
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup rice bran or vegetable oil
6 large very ripe bananas (if your bananas aren't black-ripe, you may want to add another 1/4 cup sugar, for sweetness)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
250g butter, at room temperature
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
250g milk chocolate, melted
Caramel Sauce (Optional)
100g caster sugar
1/4 cup water
120g cream
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 180°C bake. Line the bottom and sides of 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper.
Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl and whisk together.
Place eggs, vanilla, oil and bananas in another bowl and mash together, until smooth.
Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir through nuts. Transfer to cake tins.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. If you're baking in one tin, I would say approximately 55 minutes.
For the caramel, place the sugar and water in a small pot on medium heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and mixture turns a deep amber colour. Being VERY careful, pour in the cream (it will splutter) and stir through salt. Set aside in a jar or container to cool.
To make icing, place butter and cream cheese in a large bowl or bowl of your stand mixer. Use electric beaters to beat for about 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Melt chocolate in the microwave, then add to bowl with cream cheese and continue to beat for 1-2 minutes, until smooth and combined.
Allow cakes to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from tins and allow to cool completely.
If you want a completely flat cake, you can trim the dome off your cakes with a serrated knife. Choose a plate to present your cake on and put the first layer on it. Spread some icing over it, then drizzle with some caramel sauce and cover with the second layer. Ice the cake as you desire, I love using a spoon to make swoops in the icing. See some inspo on my instagram here . Some more inspo from one of my favourite cakers is Stacey Brewer Cakes and she makes messy look beautiful.
You can drizzle the finished cake with more caramel sauce or decorate with flowers, the choice is yours.
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