I often ask Mr Gochugaru what cake he would like me to make for him, and he often replies ‘coffee and walnut cake’. Then I head to the kitchen and make yet another banana cake. Two reasons: 1) I like banana cake and 2) I don’t like buttercream icing, with or without the coffee flavour.
My addition to this banana bundt (there are earlier versions: gluten-free, chocolate, plain, poppy seeds, date and tahini , black sesame and in miniature) was to pour on a chocolate ganache, then top with pecan nuts roasted with maple syrup and miso paste. The pecan nut topping was shown to me by Brasenose Girl, who had made the Miso-and-Maple-Pecan Butter Mochi Cake by Bon Appétit. The chocolate ganache is what I use as a filling for my chocolate macarons (that’s another big project to write up).
The cake was so well received at one of our family Christmas meals that I only had the one photo of it. It is now the Chinese New Year, and with an extended family lunch this weekend I decided to make another one. It’s not as easy as it sounds as the bananas have to be ripened beyond recognition as a fruit worthy of eating. The problem is that we often have bananas with our breakfast cereal, and they disappear before I can use them for cake.
The CNY banana bundt had a white chocolate ganache and the same pecan nut topping
A word of caution. In between the Christmas and CNY banana bundts I had made another bundt but using self-raising flour, instead of plain flour plus raising agents. That cake crashed into disaster territory and was unsalvageable. It went wholesale into the bin and I went back to the drawing board. My next two cakes, using double the recipe below, were baked in two USA Pan Pullman loaf pans (small size). They came out all risen, springy to the touch and beautifully brown and fragrant. These loaves were for a church event and in my excitement that they did not bomb, I forgot to take any photos.
I often tinker with my banana-based cake recipes but have now decided to write a definitive recipe for a plain-without-any-additions banana bread/ cake. This is based on Nigella Lawson’s Banana Bread i.e. page 33 of How to be a Domestic Goddess. I had to buy a whole new book as several pages in the original book were really worn out. Then I found another in a charity shop which I bought, just in case. The addition of the soured cream is to encourage a lift in the cake. I have tried buttermilk and Greek yoghurt, but soured cream gives the best cake results.
For the Bundt:
130 g unsalted butter, softened
350 g very ripe bananas, lightly crushed
150 g golden caster sugar
2 large eggs
225 g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch fine sea salt
100 g sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 g each softened butter and plain flour to line the Bundt pan
You will need a 6 Cup Anniversary Bundt Pan. The cake can also be made in a 2 pound / 900 g loaf tin.
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan.
Brush 10 g of softened butter evenly over the entire inside of the Bundt pan, taking care to fill every corner.
Sift over 10 g of flour, moving the pan around to coat evenly. Remove the excess flour by turning the pan upside down and giving it a tap (do this over a sink). Set the pan aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl (I use a KitchenAid with a flex edge beater), beat the butter and sugar until lighter in colour and texture.
Add in the flour mixture and eggs. Beat on a low speed until you get a smooth batter.
Add the bananas, soured cream and vanilla extract. Beat again on a low speed until everything looks homogenous i.e. there are no obvious lumps.
Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer and pour the cake mixture into the Bundt pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when touched. A metal skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
Make the ganache whilst the cake is baking (recipe below).
Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Pour over the chocolate ganache.
Sprinkle over the pecan-miso-maple topping (see recipe next post).
The cake will slice into eight thin and eight thicker pieces – be prepared to have no leftovers.
Chocolate ganache: place 150 g of double cream in a small saucepan and bring to nearly boiling point then switch off the heat. Add 150 g of 70% dark chocolate OR white chocolate chips. Stir with a metal whisk until the chocolate has completely melted into the cream. Set aside until the cake is completely cold, give the ganache a quick stir then pour over the cake.
The cake in stages
The Book:
How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson, published by Chatto & Windus, ISBN: 978-0701189143. You can safely cut down on the sugar in all the recipes, and still have a delicious cake at the end of the baking sessions.