Browned Banana Cake

I fell in love..  with a banana cake, a certain banana cake only. My friend's dad bake a mean one indeed, one so yummy that I will ask to pack leftover slices home in a really thick-skinned manner. and I'm not the only one, almost all present salivate at the thought of that cake.

 

It's a recipe from Aunty Yochana, which I've since bookmarked and it must have been at least 3 years! It may be weird that I love it so much, yet never attempt to bake this. It's always been at the back of my mind but since it calls for use of whipped or thick cream, an ingredient I do not usually have it on hand readily nor is keen to buy since I never ever finish even a small carton within 3 days of opening. At last, I found use for some thickened cream and bought a huge 1L pack. Immediately, this banana cake came to my mind to make use of the opened pack.

 

 

Its really very easy to make this with a few adaptations to the original recipe, cutting half the sugar, and browning the bananas in their skin before using them. All it took was half an hour to mix everything together and bake for an hour. The aroma of the banana cake filled the house and I simply could not wait.. Tried one immediately from the oven; soft and moist, it was not bad, could be a tad sweeter I thought. Waited a few hours and had a small slice that night at room temperature, it was good, the sweetness settled in a little and the texture turned slightly more hefty. One day later, I tried another slice..wow the cake taste even more strongly of banana. I heated up this slice and it resumed the moisture of day before and was a little crumbly. 2 days later, 3rd day of the bake, WOW the banana fragrance has been absorbed or infused throughout the cake. Cool from 2 hours out of the fridge, the cake is slightly on the dense side, with the crumbs holding together quite nicely. My friends and hubby pretty much love it, proclaiming it as just sweet enough. Hubby is already requesting for repeats this coming weekend! I'm loving it too!

 

Ingredients, recipe source from here:

3 medium sized bananas, ripened and mashed

180g unsalted butter, cubed and soft

90g brown sugar 

3 small eggs

50g whipped or thickened cream

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

250g cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 cup roasted walnuts

2 medium sized bananas, riped and sliced

 

Steps:

Preheat oven to 200C

1. Toast walnuts for 5 minutes until brown and crunchy

2. Bake 3 banana in their skin for 10 - 15 minutes until skin is totally black. The flesh would have caramelised and realised its sweetness.

3. Remove the skin, mash the banana. Leave to cool until its warm and not hot.

Reduce oven temperature to 180C.

4. In a mixer, cream butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and incorporate fully into the mixture.

5. Add whipped cream, vanilla paste and banana. Beat until well-blended.

6. Fold in the flour/baking powder/soda.

7. Stir the walnuts into the mixture and pour into an 8-inch lined circular baking pan. Top with banana slices.

8. Bake for 60 minutes. If top is becoming brown, tent it with baking paper or aluminium foil.

9. Remove and cool.

 

Yummy. I'm gonna make another one this Saturday!