This is one moist and scrumptious cake perfect for teas. I was skeptical at first since I've done a lot of these banana cakes that usually turn out a bit hard and more bread-like rather than cakey. But this one was a revelation so a definite keeper. I think the dates provided the needed moistness while the muscovado sugar imparted a delicious treacly taste in its personality. You can see in the picture that the edges of the top was definitely burned. Hehehe. I was too smug in my baking abilities and assumed that the baking temperature is the usual 180C/350F. Forty minutes after putting in the pan in the oven, I sneaked a peek in the recipe book and it said there - 160°C *not* 180°C. Yikes! That's a 20-degree difference! I lowered the temperature immediately good thing it did not singed to ashes the rest of it. :)
The nifty BBC books cookbook 101 Cakes & Bakes, provided the recipe I adapted.
Banana Date Cake
175 g butter - softened
100 g [1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp firmly packed] light muscovado sugar
3 Tbsp honey
2 eggs - beaten
225 g [scant 2 cups] self-raising flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 medium, ripe bananas - mashed (about 1 cup)
100 g stoned dates - chopped
50 g walnuts - chopped
- Grease and line the bottom and long side of a 1 kg/2 lb loaf pan. Preheat oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/325°F.
- In a small bowl, mix the flour and cinnamon until well combined. Set aside.
- In a big bowl, beat the butter with the muscovado sugar.
- Add in 2 Tbsp of the honey and the eggs. Beat and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon.
- Tip in the mashed banana and dates, mix until well blended.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
- Scatter the chopped walnuts evenly on top.
- Bake for about 1 hour. Press the top lightly, it should be firm. If not, bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Lift out of the pan and drizzle the remaining 1 Tbsp honey on top. Cool completely.
2 comments:
I have just tried it! its amazingly delicious :) Can I add the cake photo? it looks really good...
Hi , paul here
i just made this cake today..
i added a 1/2 tsp of powdered ginger used chopped almonds
and it was bloody loverly , definetely like a cake, no a bread . well worth making .. i found the timings for me was 1h45mins on gas mark 3 ..
thank you
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