Banana Cake

Is this recipe the best banana cake ever? Well a lot of people at Exclusively Food blog seem to think so. I have to agree that is an extremely good banana cake, definitely better than the banana cakes you buy from cafes. My work mates all agreed as well and gobbled it down.

The process of using a food blender to make this cake means that the banana is completely pulverised and the flavour is spread throughout the cake, giving it a strong banana flavour. The only change I would make is to use even more banana next time, but leaving some mashed banana to put into the batter at the last minute, so there would be chunks of banana in the cake when you ate it.

Finally as a tip, it was really hard to try and process the flour into the mixture using the food processor. I just used an electric beater and mixed the flour in like that. The texture of the cake still tasted good I thought so I don't think it made any difference.



Banana Cake

You will need about 2-3 large bananas for this recipe.

125g butter, softened (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt with the flour)
330g (1 1/2 cups) sugar
280g (1 very slightly rounded cup) very ripe, mashed banana
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (1 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)
2 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
100ml (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) buttermilk
225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius fan-forced. If you don't have a fan-forced oven, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 22cm diameter springform pan.

Place butter, sugar, banana, vanilla and eggs in a food processor.

Process for about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of processor. Add buttermilk and pulse to combine.

Sift flour, salt (if using) and bicarbonate of soda together into a large bowl. Add flour mixture to food processor and process until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer or knife inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Leave cake to cool on a wire rack.

Spread cooled cake with cream cheese icing. Store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Icing
90g cream cheese, softened
45g butter, softened
210g (1 2/3 cups) icing sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sifted icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add lemon juice and beat to combine. Spread icing over top and sides of cooled cake.