The Quick and Easy Banana Cake!

I popped this recipe onto the eating for Ireland Facebook one Friday evening – and it took off!

One of the best things about this recipe is that it takes about 10 minutes to put together, and that’s always an attractive option in my book.. Also, you don’t need to pull out your Electric mixer – you can whip this up using one bowl and a balloon whisk  – so not much washing up either – Hooray!!

Most banana breads/cakes – to me, this is definitely more of a cake – are made in loaf tins, so when I decided to use an 8”/20cm Sponge tin, it was really a bit of a game changer. It’s not a huge cake, but the Mascarpone icing (see NOTES) makes it very special. Of course you can cut the un-iced cake into wedges, give it 20 seconds in the microwave, and serve it with custard as a pudding if you like too. Either way, it will be equally delicious!

Give it a go – I’m fairly certain you won’t regret it – and the making of it is only 10 minutes out of your life!

EQUIPMENT:

• An 8”/23cm  sponge tin – buttered, and the base lined with baking parchment.
• A medium sized bowl
• a sieve
•  a hand whisk
• A spatula – for scrapping out the bowl.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 ripe or over-ripe Bananas
• 1 egg
•  120g melted butter – slightly cooled
• 50g sugar
• teaspoon of Vanilla extract
• 180g Plain flour
• A heaped teaspoon of ground Cinnamon – optional
• A teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda
• Half a Teaspoon of salt
• 100g of raisins – optional

For ICING – see NOTES below          

METHOD:

• Heat the oven to 160Fan.
• Melt the butter and put to one side
• Using a fork, roughly mash the bananas in the bowl.
• Add the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract and egg, and stir in well
• Weigh out the flour, add the Bicarbonate of Soda, Cinnamon (if using) and salt – then sift together to combine.
• If you’re using the raisins, add them to the flour mixture now.
• Pour all the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, and whisk together for a minute until it’s all combined.
• Pour into your prepared tin.

• Bake for 40-45 minutes until it’s nicely risen, and bounces back when you press the top with a finger.
• Let it sit for a few minutes, then turn it out of the tin and cool completely.
• When fully cold ice it or eat it!

NOTES:

Icing: Both good, neither essential..

PLAIN ICING:

• 200g sifted Icing sugar
• a few drops of lemon juice
• Mix together with a whisk, adding the lemon juice very slowly, until the icing reaches a spreadable thickness.
• Spread or drizzle over the cake, encouraging it to drizzle artistically down the sides, then allow it to set for 30 minutes or so.

MASCARPONE ICING: The pictures here show the Mascarpone icing..

• Sift three tablespoonfuls of Icing sugar into a bowl.
• Add 250g of Mascarpone, and beat together until fully combined and starting to thicken a little.
• Spread liberally over the top of the cake, and as it doesn’t harden much, you can eat it almost straight away.

NOTES (continued):

• My friend Gillian asked if she could replace the ‘dead flies’ – her description! – with chocolate chips and my response was ‘of course!’ I was just a bit annoyed that I didn’t think of it myself..
• The addition of a middle layer of fresh raspberries is a delicious surprise and has warranted its own recipe https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/the-raspberry-and-cinnamon-banana-cake/