Stephanie Alexander's simple banana cake
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 6:41PM 
This recipe is a staple in my house, I make it all the time. This is mainly because the boyfriend has a habit of slipping a large bunch of bananas into the trolley each week and then leaving them to rot. I find this cake works best with overripe bananas, so I try to step in before they are completely past it and the result is a seemingly never-ending supply of banana cake and some very happy friends and colleagues.
I don't always make it to the letter, which is more a matter of convenience than preference. For example, I sometimes use just cinnamon and no allspice, but only when that reflects the contents of my cupboard. I also tend to have plain yoghurt in the fridge which needs using and someone once told me that it makes a cake moister, so I often use that rather than milk or buttermilk. It is very a moist cake anyway though, so any of the above will do.
The main thing I do differently is that I like to make a cream cheese icing. Most people who’ve tried the cake seem to like the icing best and I think that is a good enough reason to keep making it my way.
Below is Stephanie Alexander’s cake recipe, followed by two options for cream cheese icing. Try them both, I'd be interested to hear your verdict.
Tip: Don't worry if it looks slightly curdled when you add the eggs and banana. It will come together when you add the flour
Stephanie Alexander's Simple banana cake
Ingredients
Method
Butter and flour a 20cm square cake tin, then line base with baking paper.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, banana and vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients and add to mixture, alternating with buttermilk.
Spoon into tin and bake for 45 mins – 1 hour or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let the cake cool for at least 20 mins in its tin before removing and transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before icing.
My cream cheese icing
Stephanie Alexander's cake recipe doesnt include icing, but these two toppings are so delicious that once you have made it with one of them, you won't ever go back to a plain cake, as good as that cake may be.
Passionfruit icing is really common in Australia and lends the cake a tropical, summery feel. If you can't get your hands on a decent, juicy passionfruit, then go with vanilla - simple and elegant.
Ingredients
Option 1: Vanilla icing and walnuts
Option 2: Passionfruit icing
*Please note that his should not be substituted for a reduced-fat version, as it will become very runny when whisked
Method
Option 1: Vanilla icing and walnuts
Put the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl, sift over the icing sugar and gently whisk together till combined. Check for sweetness and add more icing sugar, if necessary.
Add the vanilla essence or vanilla seeds and the double cream and whisk until you have a spreadable consistency.
Refrigerate the icing while the cake is cooling. Once the cake has been iced, sprinkle the walnuts over the top for garnish.
Option 2: Passionfruit icing
Put the cream cheese and passionfruit pulp in a large mixing bowl, sift over the icing sugar and gently whisk together till combined. Check for sweetness and add more icing sugar, if necessary.
Add the double cream and whisk until you have a spreadable consistency.
Refrigerate the icing while the cake is cooling.
Reader Comments (14)
This is my favourite banana cake and also a staple at my place but I'll definitely be trying it with the cream cheese icing.
I am in awe that you can tell if a cake is done by looking at it. My mum, your grandmother, wasn't a very inventive cook but she did bake yummy cakes. She taught me to press the top.If my finger didn't leave a dent it was cooked. Do other people find that works for them?
I wouldn't be able to tell any cake was done (or not) just by looking at it. The reason you can tell with this one is because you can see raw cake mix/banana through the cracks on the top of the cake. I think the finger trick does work, but I tend to use a skewer and see if it comes out clean.
For other people who have the same banana issues as Vicky but don't have time to bake straight away - do peel the bananas and put them in the freezer. They are great to use straight from the freezer and mixed with milk in the food processor for freezing cold, super-thick smoothies. Defrosted bananas are fine for cooking with too.
PS. Agree with the skewer thing - checking with your finger can be deceptive if the cake is very deep.
Thanks for this helpful comment, Katy. You are right about freezing the bananas, I have done this in the past, but we have such a chronic case of brown bananas in this household that I gave up because there were always some freshly rotting (if that is possible) bananas ready to for more cakes.
Will have to try the frozen banana smoothie, although I'm not sure if my magimix can take it...
I am in US and am having trouble knowing how much flour, butter, etc. to use. Could you please give me a breakdown as to 250g = ?? cups Thanks for your help. Can't wait to try this recipe and the cream cheese icing. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Patricia - sorry, I have only just seen this, so probably too late. There are lots of converters online which make the job easier. Try this one or this one. Hope this helps.
It looks very good. I like to eat banana cake.
I like it very much.
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