Banana Cake

This must be the world’s best recipe for Banana bread. It is from Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion and it produces an incredibly moist and aromatic cake which takes old banana into a whole other dimension. I often add more banana than the recipe says (within reason) and have found that the cake comes out even more soft and delicious.

INGREDIENTS

125g soft butter

1 ½ cups of sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (or more) mashed ripe banana

few drops vanilla extract

250g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

½ cup buttermilk or ½ cup milk mixed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

METHOD

Butter and flour a 22 cm square cake tin (I have used a large loaf tin in these photos and that works equally well), then line base with baking paper. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Cream 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 1 hour or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool cake in its tin on a wire rack for a few minutes before turning out. Cool completely before cutting and storing in an airtight container.