INGREDIENTS
Banana cake
125 g butter, softened
175 g raw sugar
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Zest 1 lemon
2 eggs
4 large overripe bananas, roughly mashed
315 g self-raising flour
½ tsp bi carb soda
½ tsp salt flakes
200 g Greek yoghurt
Frosting
500 g cream cheese
100 g unsalted butter, softened
125 g pure icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp vanilla paste
1/8 tsp salt flakes
To assemble
2 bananas, sliced into 5mm slices
Zest of ½ lemon
Fresh flowers and foliage, optional
METHOD
Banana cake
- Preheat oven on Conventional at 180°C
- Grease and line the base and sides of two 20 cm cake tin with baking paper.
- Place the butter in a bowl of a freestanding mixer with paddle attachment. Beat butter until smooth; followed by the sugar. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla, spices, lemon zest and eggs one at a time until combined.
- Next, add in the bananas and beat until combined.
- Removed from the mixer and using a spatula, fold through the flour, bi carb soda and yoghurt.
- Divide the cake batter between the two cake tins. Smooth the mixture with a spatula creating a slight dip in the centre. This will prevent the cake from rising too much in the centre when baking.
- Place tins on shelf level 2 and bake for 35–40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Remove cakes from the tins and place onto a cake rack to cool completely. Cakes can be cooled quickly in the refrigerator or freezer.
Frosting
- Place butter in a bowl of a freestanding mixer with paddle attachment and beat until smooth.
- Add the cream cheese and continue beating until smooth.
- Gradually add in icing sugar, vanilla and salt and continue beating until smooth and fluffy.
- Set aside until ready to assemble the cake.
To Assemble
- Ensure the cakes are completely cold before frosting. This will prevent any frosting disasters.
- Place one of the cakes onto a serving plate and add half of the frosting to the top. Gently smooth with a spatula or back of a spoon.
- Arrange the sliced banana to cover over the frosting. Add another spoonful of frosting on top so the bananas are in the centre. This will help secure the top layer to the bottom cake layer.
- Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake. Using a long spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and the top until smooth.
- Decorate the top of the cake with flowers and foliage or some lemon zest. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cake will keep frozen for up to 1 month.
APPLIANCE / FUNCTION
Ashley Alexander
Australian foodie, recipe developer and stylist Ashley Alexander is a self-taught cook who spent a lot of her early years in the kitchen cooking up a storm with her mum, tasting, learning and experimenting. Now living in Melbourne, Ashley has followed her childhood passion, launching Gather and Feast, a website full of beautiful food and delicious recipes. “Gather and Feast brings together two very important concepts for me – people and food. I wanted to bring them together in a welcoming, all-encompassing and delicious way,” Ashley said.
