Yes! We Have No Bananas

Not being one to be beaten... and a glut of over ripe bananas festering in the fruit bowl; I decided to have another go at baking a banana cake, as my first attempt was most unpleasant... when is a soggy bottom anything but!

My banana purchases are very specific. I buy them at the weekend in readiness for the start of the Monday morning diet. But my good intentions rarely proceed beyond Monday lunchtime, so the fruit bowl doesn't get so much as a cursory glance for the rest of the week. Until, that is, pesky little black fruit flies flit around my head attempting suicide by drowning in my glass of wine, which alerts me to the presence over ripe fruit.

Not wanting to waste the black skinned bananas, I Googled a recipe for Banana cake, and the top result was this one, which everyone seems to rate very highly. But sadly, mine was very disappointing. It was heavy, with a dense texture that was so moist towards the bottom it looked uncooked. Needless to say it went in the bin. Would have been a lot cheaper and less wasteful, not to mention time consuming, if I'd just chucked the bananas in the bin in the first place!

So, realising how futile it was, I didn't add bananas to my shopping list this week. Instead, I came home from the supermarket determined to put the over ripe fruit to good use and bake a banana cake to be proud of... well one that was edible!

Having thoroughly researched the subject, I discovered this isn't the easiest cake to bake and get good results, which made me feel a little better. Believe it or not, there are probably more disgruntled banana cake bakers out there than happy ones. I also discovered that I had probably over blended the mixture, as I used a food processor instead of doing it by hand.

Anyway, always one for a challenge, I decided that this time I would follow the recipe exactly! Well, when I say exactly... I didn't have self raising flour, so I used plain flour with the addition of baking powder and a pinch of bicarb and salt for good measure. Neither did I have enough castor sugar, so I substituted half with demerara sugar. But that apart, everything else was exactly as stated.

One hour and 10 minutes later I removed it from the oven.

Looking good...
Eager to see what it was like inside, it wasn't long before I cut into it to check the consistency.

Not a soggy bottom in sight!

But it was still a little warm, so I served up a couple of slices and left them to cool while I made a cuppa.


It was at this point I think I was going a little bananas as I surreptitiously glanced around the room in a suspicious manner, and announced to the dog that I hoped there weren't any cows in the kitchen. Yes you read right, I said cows, when in fact I meant flies! Why this should be I have no idea, bus I suspect it might have something to do with a fellow Etsy member called Cow who loves cake and is always on the scrounge for it. After a quick search under the table, behind the fridge and in the pantry I was satisfied Cow wasn't lurking, and my cake was safe to be left unattended while it cooled.

Never turn your back for a minute...

Spot the difference

I am happy to report my banana cake was delicious! I say "was" because it didn't last very long... possibly on account of a couple of slices going walkabout! It had a lovely crunchy outer, moist but light centre and was bursting with flavour. Although by morning the outer had lost it's crunch and become slightly moist, which I actually think I preferred. So to my mind it improves with keeping, very much as Parkin does.

'Tis Monday tomorrow, I need to start my diet and I have no bananas!