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Caramelised banana and coffee cake

Caramelised Banana and Coffee Cake

A fluffy sponge cake made with caramelised bananas, and finished with a coffee cream cheese buttercream icing.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Servings 8 slices

Ingredients
  

For the caramelised bananas

  • 3 large bananas around 300g
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 1 vanilla pod seeds scraped out (or 1tsp vanilla extract)
  • 2 tbsp cold water
  • 50 g unsalted butter

For the cake

  • 200 g plain flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 3 large bananas (caramelised as per the recipe) about 300g total
  • 167 ml sunflower oil
  • 110 g dark brown sugar
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 80 ml whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the buttercream

  • 113 g butter softened
  • 227 g cream cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • 2 tsp instant espresso powder
  • 480 g icing sugar sifted

Instructions
 

To caramelise your bananas

  • First things first: make your caramelised bananas. Cut your bananas in half lengthways then heat the sugar over a low heat in a non-stick frying pan. After a few minutes, the sugar will start to caramelise around the edges of the pan. Keep cooking until it's turned a golden amber colour, swirling the pan as you go. And be patient – if the heat is too high, it may burn!
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla seeds (or extract) and 2 tbsp of cold water, to stop it cooking any further.
  • Add the bananas cut side down and return to the heat; cook for 1-2 minutes and then turn over, the bananas should have taken on the caramel colour. Place in a bowl and mash with the back of a fork.

For the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Line a 6-inch cake tin with baking parchment.
  • In a large bowl, sift the plain flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ground mixed spice, ginger and nutmeg until fully combined.
  • In another large bowl, whisk together the caramelised bananas (this should be about 300g in total), sunflower oil, both the sugars, milk, eggs and vanilla extract.
  • Add the flour mixture in thirds to the wet ingredients, whisking after each addition, until you've used up all the flour. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until no streaks remain.
  • Spoon the cake batter into the prepared tin, and bake for 50-60 minutes.
    N.B. After 30 mins of baking, you may need to pop a sheet of foil over your cake to stop the top from darkening too quickly.
  • Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool completely.

For the icing

  • Using an electric whisk, whip the butter until smooth, creamy and pliable then add the cream cheese and whisk again until everything it properly incorporated.
  • Mix the vanilla essence with the espresso powder to dissolve it, then add to the cream cheese mixture, beating until well combined.
  • Sift in 120g of the icing sugar at a time, mixing well on a low speed after each addition. Repeat until all the icing sugar has been used up, or you've reached the desired consistency.
    N.B. I like using the full 480g, but anything between 420g-480g should make a good icing so it's up to personal preference.

Notes

I've used a PME JEM 3J Large Curved Star Savoy piping nozzle for this cake.
Watch me decorate it here.
Keyword banana, cake, caramel, coffee, cream cheese