Birthday Banana Bread Bake... Cake?
- R.
- Apr 9, 2015
- 3 min read
My birthday is on the 9th of April. Now you know. This year I had the pleasure of making my own birthday cake. Mainly because gluten free baking is quite daunting to most people, and buying a readymade gluten free cake here in Belgium isn't easy.
This cake (can I call it a cake? I normally make it as a bread, the exact same recipe in a bread tin... but this time I baked it in a cake tin. Does that make it a cake? It's not really a bread anyway because it's sweet and soft and forms those little cake crumbs you like to move up with your finger - you know the ones)... I was saying, this cake is so easy to make. You do need quite an extensive number of ingredients, especially if you include the decorations, but don't let that put you off!
This cake reminds me of America. I don't know why, I didn't eat any "banana bread" whilst I was in the USA... but something about the flavours just make me feel like I'm on holiday over there. It makes me happy, and I guess that's the most important, whether I know why or not.
Watch the video on how to make them here: (or keep reading for written instructions)
Ingredients:
3 large, ripe, bananas - the riper the better 1.5 tsps of clear honey 3 eggs 1 tbsp of coconut oil 55g of unsalted butter at room temperature 100 g of granulated white sugar 45g of brown sugar 3 tsps bicarbonate of soda 70g potato starch 2.5 tsps yeast 230g white rice flour 55g gluten free certified oats 150g Greek style yoghurt 100g of pecan nuts
How to:
1. Start by mashing the bananas up really well, until they look like baby food. The more mashed up they are the better they'll integrate with the cake, any lumps will stay as lumps even once the cake is cooked - which is totally fine if you like little bits of gooey banana in your cake
2. In a bowl whisk the butter and coconut oil together. Make it nice and fluffy. Then add the white sugar and whisk well. Add the brown sugar and whisk until nice and creamy. The mixture should lighten in colour as you add air to it
3. Lightly whisk the eggs with a fork then gradually add them to the butter-sugar mixture. Make sure to whisk well between each addition (this is THE moment to add lots of air to your cake to make it nice and fluffy!)
4. With a metal spoon, stir in your mashed bananas and the Greek style yoghurt
5. Sift in all the flours and rising agents (another great opportunity to add air!) and stir, making sure to collect any bits sticking to the sides and bottom of the bowl
6. Break up your pecan nuts and invite them to the party (you know, stir them into the mix)
7. Pour mix into a greased cake tin, loaf tin, muffin tins, all of the above…
8. Bake in the centre of an oven that has been preheated to 180°C for 35-45 minutes; until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. (Remember that mushed up banana in step 1? Well, obviously, if you're going for the chunks of sticky banana be mindful when checking whether your skewer is clean or not. You're checking to see if all the batter has cooked, and if you poke through a piece of banana the skewer won't come out clean but your batter might be cooked. So if that happens maybe just poke your cake somewhere else to check. If your banana was mushed up to baby food consistency, the banana will be fully incorporated into the cake. Alternatively, if you lightly press the top of the cake is should spring back when it's done)
9. Let cool a little on the side then remove the cake from its tin and then let it cool completely. *resist temptation to eat the whole thing out of the pan*
Nutritional values:
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