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Friday, January 23, 2009

Caramel Banana Cake



So I have a bit of a thing for banana cake.

But what's not to love? Moist cake, the creamy fragrance of banana and surprise crunchy nuggets of walnut. Bliss.

This version takes banana cake to a new level of decadence with the addition of caramel icing. The icing isn't sickeningly sweet, but adds a slight toffee sweetness that matches well with the banana and walnut.

With a healthy dollop of sour cream and a good splodge of butter, this cake is undeniably moist and incredibly easy. It may as well come with a satisfaction guarantee.


Caramel Banana Cake

140g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
2 eggs
1 cup mashed over-ripe banana
1 tablespoon milk
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2/3 cup walnuts

Caramel icing
60g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted


Preheat oven to 180C.

Grease and line a 15x25cm loaf tin with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well combined.

Add the mashed banana, milk, sour cream, bicarbonate of soda and half the flour. Stir gently until smooth.

Add the remaining flour and the walnuts. I squeeze handfuls of walnuts in my fist just to roughly snap them in half. If you don't like big chunks of walnut in your cake, then chop them roughly first. Fold these in gently until the mixture is smooth and incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and baked at 180C for 40min to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely. When cold, spread quickly and generously with the caramel icing.

Caramel icing: Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring regularly until the sugar dissolves (about 2-3 minutes). Add the sour cream and turn the heat up to high until the mixture boils. Let it boil for 3o seconds to one minute, then remove from heat and add the icing sugar. I usually don't bother sifting it but use a whisk to get all the lumps out. Let the icing cool for about 3 minutes, or until it thickens, before spreading over the cake.




Related GrabYourFork posts:
Banana bread
Banana cupcakes
Banana sour cream cake
Banoffee pie (banana caramel tart)
6 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 1/23/2009 02:00:00 am


6 Comments:

  • At 1/23/2009 9:54 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The last banana cake I made followed a recipe on internet was totally failure... (I sense someone trying to sabotage), definitely will try your recipe as I can see few bananas in the fruit basket is are going limpy in this weather...un

     
  • At 1/23/2009 12:40 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Cake with cream and butter! Goodness, you obviously don't have any cholesterol concerns...! Does look tempting though...

     
  • At 1/23/2009 6:20 pm, Blogger Miss Honey said…

    I have been meaning to bake banana cake for a while, after accumulating a couple of recipes. I like the addition of walnut in this one - brownie-eque, and caramel icing looks divine.

     
  • At 1/25/2009 5:09 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Billy - A failed banana cake? Argh! I usually check out a few different recipes to make sure people aren't trying to trick me! lol. But this one definitely works :)

    Hi Jax - Cholesterol? What's that? I believe in good food in small quantities, and homemade stuff is calorie-free, no?

    Hi Miss Honey - I always add walnuts even if the banana cake recipe doesn't call for any. I think it cuts the sweetness and gives a better contrast of textures. I also love walnuts.

    The caramel icing is good. I thought it might be too sweet and too much but it works surprisingly well.

     
  • At 5/25/2009 5:17 pm, Blogger flexnib said…

    I made this cake and brought it in for a work morning tea today - it was a hit! People had second and third slices (not that I was counting) and I have also been asked for the recipe, which I have shared, quoting this blog :)

    My only comment was that because it was cold this morning, the icing hardened rather too quickly and it was a bit difficult to spread. The cake didn't look very attractive after my efforts, but luckily any reservations were forgotten when we started eating!

     
  • At 6/01/2009 1:01 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi CW - Ahh glad it was such a success. I think everyone loves banana cake and caramel icing just makes everybody smile :) I had a bit of trouble with my icing too - I think next time a little bit of hot water would help its spreadability. Thanks for the plug too!

     

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