Caramel Banana Cake
At least once in two weeks, we’re left with more bananas we can eat. It’s this horrid heat and humidity I tell you — it makes them ripen quicker than usual. We do love them at home though — we add them in porridges and pancakes and dosais, eat them after our lunches and between meals, but most of all we love them in our cakes! And as I discover and create one banana cake after another, I’m amazed at the variety I’m left with. Although I haven’t put up as many banana cakes as I should have, there a few banana cakes — after first making the caramel banana cake, that is — the Cordon Rose Banana Cake, the scrummy moist classic banana walnut loaf, and these delightful breakfast banana date muffins.
The caramel banana cake is a guaranteed hit at home. You won’t make it because your bananas ripened too quickly and you’re suddenly left with more overripe bananas than you can handle, but because you’ll crave more. Because everybody in your house will demand more. And they’ll threaten to stop eating the other cakes you bake until don’t make more caramel banana cake. I kid you not.
The caramel banana cake came about when I had more overripe bananas than I could handle (of course), and also more sour cream than I could handle (ummmm, this I don’t know why). I knew that the fibre in the bananas would hold the cake firm as I added lots of sour cream (No sour cream at home? No problem. Here’s how you can make sour cream at home. You can also use crème fraîche — learn how to make crème fraîche at home, here —or buttermilk even). And, I was craving caramel as I was looking at the bananas. It all just clicked.
It was going to be a big task to make the caramel outshine the bananas inside the cake, so I thought I could do that outside the cake, with the frosting. And so the heavenly caramel icing was born. You can use it on any other cake — but make sure that it is a cake that has either brown sugar or less sugar. The sour cream adds to the caramel a different dimension that make you want to gobble up all the icing at one go (if your stomach allowed it!), and it is just the right consistency to sit beautifully atop your caramel banana cake. It only lilts ever so little as you lift your cake, and stays put until your done with your slice.
This, dearies, is one of my favourite banana cakes! Many are its wondrous qualities: creamy, soft, moist, rich, caramelly, finger-licking, indulgent, and simple. That feeling you get as you bite in and indulge? It’s pure bliss. Try it, and you’ll see what I mean. Let me know how the caramel banana cake turned out for you: leave a comment below, or use the hashtag #notjustspice on Instagram, or @notjustspice on Facebook.
Your bananas must be overripe — look for the one that have a lot of black spots. Equipment: 14 cm x 21 cm (5.5” x 8”) loaf pan, greased and lined with parchment paper.
Related Links:
How To Make Sour Cream (not just spice)
How To Make Crème Fraîche (not just spice)
Scrummy Moist Classic Banana Walnut Loaf (not just spice)
Cordon Rose Banana Cake (not just spice)
Delightful Breakfast Banana Date Muffins (not just spice)
Ingredients
Ingredients
Heavenly Caramel Icing
Instructions
- 1Preheat the oven to 180ºC (356ºF).
- 2Add the wholemeal flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda to a smal bowl and whisk for 30 seconds.
- 3Cream the butter and sugar in a big bowl with a whisk or electric beater until light and fluffy.
- 4Beat the eggs in one by one, for 20 seconds after each addition.
- 5Stir in the banana with a wooden spoon or spatula, then stir in half the dry ingredients.
- 6Then, add the sour cream and milk and stir them in.
- 7Lastly, stir in the rest of the dry ingredients and fold until the batter is smooth.
- 8Transfer it to the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Notes
Your bananas must be overripe — look for the one that have a lot of black spots. Equipment: 14 cm x 21 cm (5.5” x 8”) loaf pan, greased and lined with parchment paper.