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Banana Cake Recipe

 

 
 Banana Cake Recipe

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Banana Cake Recipe. Click picture to enlarge.
Our Banana Cake Recipe gives you a fruity and moist cake that all the family will like. We show you how to top it off with creamy delicious topping. And of course we lead you through the process with step by step pictures.

Also worth a try is our Banana Bread recipe.

KEY POINTS

 Preparation Time:  15 minutes  Cooking Time:   50 minutes
 How Difficult  Easy  Freeze?   No
 Servings

 1 Cake


INGREDIENTS
The basic ingredients for the banana cake are shown below.

Banana Cake ingredients. Click picture to enlarge.
For illustration only, use the ingredients list below.

Metric Imperial
Banana Cake Banana Cake
3 medium bananas, ripe if possible (approx. 400 g) 3 medium bananas, ripe if possible (approx. 14 oz)
300 g self-raising flour 10 oz self-raising flour
150 g soft butter 5 oz soft butter
150 g soft brown sugar (Demerara) 5 oz soft brown sugar (Demerara)
2 medium eggs (at room temperature)
80 g walnuts or sultanas 3 oz walnuts or sultanas
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Cake Topping Cake Topping
125 g full fat soft cheese 4½ oz full fat soft cheese
75 g butter 2½ oz butter
200 g icing (confectioners) sugar 7 oz icing (confectioners) sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence

WHAT SPECIAL KITCHEN EQUIPMENT?

You will need the following for the banana cake:
1 large bowl to mix the ingredients
900g loaf tin (see picture below)
Small amount of greaseproof baking paper

CLICK ANY PICTURE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT

The butter must be soft. The best way to achieve this is to measure out the butter an hour or so before it is needed and leave it at room temperature. If this is not possible, break up the butter with a fork and beat it for a minute or so. If all else fails, put it in a bowl and float the bowl in warm water.

Turn the oven on, setting it to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

Next, grease the loaf tin with margarine or butter, and line the tin with greaseproof baking paper. It's not essential to cover 100% of the tin but make sure that it lays as flat as possible on the inside of the tin.

Cake tin lined. Click picture to enlarge. Grease the inside of the loaf tin with margarine or butter, and line the tin with greaseproof baking paper.

It's not essential to cover 100% of the tin but make sure that the greaseproof paper lays as flat as possible on the inside of the tin. This will help  to make a good-looking flat sided cake.


 
Mashed banana. Click picture to enlarge. Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork until they are really mushy. It's easier if the bananas are ripe but not essential.

Chop up the walnuts reasonably finely (click picture on beneath to enlarge). Sultanas can be used as an alternative if you have a nut allergy.

 


 
Banana cake ingredients. Click picture to enlarge. Place the butter and brown sugar into a mixing bowl and blend together with a fork. The idea here is to mix the two ingredients thoroughly and at the same time incorporate as much air into the mixture as possible.

Mixing with a fork in a figure of eight shape will help to incorporate air into the cake mix.


 

Banana Cake ingredients. Click picture to enlarge.

Stir in the bananas and chopped walnuts or sultanas and mix thoroughly. Add one egg and sift in half of the flour. Mix thoroughly in a figure of eight. Add the remaining flour, egg and lemon juice then mix again in a figure of eight.

Now the magic touch! Add the two tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil and mix thoroughly again in a figure of eight with a fork. The oil will keep the cake moist.


  
Banana Cake picture. Click picture to enlarge. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin, smooth it level and place in the oven for 50 minutes. Go to the next step to make the topping.

After that time take it out and test that it is cooked by piercing the cake with a fork and if it comes out clean it's cooked. If not cook for another 5 minutes and retest (see below).


Some people have commented that this banana cake takes 1 hour 15 minutes to bake so don't be concerned if it's the same for you. Different ovens and slightly different ingredients are probably the cause of this. Just keep checking every five or ten minutes.

When you take the cake out of the oven, take it out of the tin and place it on a wire rack or something similar. This will stop the cake sweating and getting damp - it really does make a difference.

Allow the cake an hour or so to cool down before icing it.

Banana Cake picture with icing. Click picture to enlarge. Make the icing by pouring the icing sugar, soft cheese, butter and vanilla into a bowl and mixing it all together with a fork.

Spoon the icing onto the cake and spread it evenly with a knife. Pop a couple of cherries or walnuts on the top if you want to decorate it.

MORE CAKE RECIPES

TWENTY FIVE COMMENTS HAVE BEEN LEFT ON THIS PAGE

From: Kerry
5 January 2010
Now a firm favourite with my family and has been made for charity cake sales too! a lovely recipe...many thanks.

From: Gemjay
23 January 2010
I tried this banana cake recipe and its really not nice at all!! I'm really gutted as you have lots of good comments but I'm wondering if the bad don't get thru?? it looks good however but tastes awful :( i tried adding caramel and butter cream but no better xXx.
ANSWER: All constructive and polite comments are printed, good and bad., this is proof for you!

From: Himee
30 January 2010
We always use this recipe and it always comes out lovely! :) Thank you!

From: Lan Lan
2 February 2010
I made this banana cake last week (and another is cooking in the oven now!) & loved it: so moist & easy to make. I avoid recipes using oil as it never works out right so this is perfect.

From: Linda
2 February 2010
The recipe states that you use Demerara sugar if you wish, but this is a crunchy sugar, rather than a soft brown sugar.  Has anyone made it with the Demerara sugar, and, if so, what were the results like?

From: Sarah
4 February 2010
This is really nice simple recipe that my 3 year old son enjoyed doing, although I must admit we added raisins and white chocolate too. Yummy.

From: Jan
5 February 2010
Really truly lovely, I think it was the most successful cake I have ever made.

From: JoJo
6 February 2010
I love this banana cake recipe, but I find that one has to keep it in the oven for quite a bit longer than 50 minutes. I sometimes add a bit of rum essence, very tasty!

From: Maria
7 February 2010
This is one of my top recipes! Instead of walnuts (which I like but no-one else does). I add luxury fruit mix and end up with cherries and pineapples, sultanas and raisins on top of the bananas - very exotic! Also, I sometimes substitute up to half of the banana weight with grated carrot because I love carrot cake too. Just gorgeous!!!!

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