There is no denying that I like cake very, very much. It is pointless the doctor saying to me that I can eat cake but in moderation. They must mean: if you are going to eat fatty, iced and sugary cake, then have it occasionally as a treat.
Since I would like to eat cake more or less daily, I have had to seriously rethink some of my cake recipes. I started with reducing the sugar in my bakes even more, and mostly these have been successful. Trying to replace some of the butter with e.g. fat-free yogurt was a disaster.
Last weekend I had some over-ripe bananas, and not wanting to make a banana cake (these are always good) I thought about my Hummingbird Cake. Looking at the recipe I could not now see why I used 300 ml oil for 300 g of flour. The original cake turned out beautifully, but I did think I could make a simple and un-iced cake to cover any nagging from the medics.
The core fillings of very ripe banana, tinned pineapple and toasted pecan nuts
Despite having many different shapes of Bundt pans, I keep turning to Nordicware‘s 6-cup Anniversary Bundt Pan. It is a simple but effective shape.
For the Cake:
2 eggs
115 g dark brown soft sugar (I use Billington’s brand)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons rum
115 ml sunflower oil
175 g self-raising flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
large pinch fine sea salt
200 g very ripe bananas, lightly crushed
150 g tinned pineapple (drained weight) chopped
75 g toasted pecan nuts, chopped
10 g each softened butter and plain flour to line the Bundt pan
(Cream cheese frosting: see end of post)
You will also need a 6 Cup Anniversary Bundt Pan as the shape is attractive and it makes cutting/ sharing easier. You can also bake the cake in a 2-lb loaf tin.
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 155°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, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and rum until the mixture has doubled in volume. I used a KitchenAid with a whisk attachment, but a small hand-held electric beater would work as well.
Slowly pour in the oil and beat on a low speed until you get a homogenous batter.
Using a silicon spatula, fold in the flour followed by the banana, pineapple and pecan nuts. Make sure everything is evenly mixed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake in the oven for 55 minutes or until the cake bounces back when touched. A metal skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
The cake will slice into multiple pieces following the pattern of its raised shape – perfect for a sharing with friends and family around a communal table.
For the cream cheese frosting, see recipe below.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
You can serve this on the side for anyone to dip into. The ratio is 25% unsalted butter, 25% icing sugar and 50% full-fat cream cheese.
I am giving the ratios instead of weight because sadly, Philadelphia Cream Cheese sizes have steadily decreased over time. Butter blocks have decreased from 250 g to 200 g. Prices have increased and to make any sensible quantity of frosting now requires multiple packs of cream cheese and butter.
For this quantity of cake, and using the latest small size of Philadelphia cream cheese (UK), you will need:
85 g unsalted butter
85 g icing sugar, sifted
165 g Philadelphia brand cream cheese
1 teaspoons vanilla paste
Make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before starting. I have thrown away many batches of frosting when I did not follow this advice. You can always chill the frosting after it is made, for serving later.
Beat the butter with the icing sugar for a few minutes until the mixture is smooth. I used a KitchenAid with a paddle attachment on a low speed, but a small hand-held electric beater would work.
Add the cream cheese and vanilla paste and continue beating on a low speed until the entire mixture is light in texture.
Place in a bowl and serve on the side.
