During this period of Lockdown, there has been a huge uptick in BBB, or “banana based baking”. Apparently banana bread has been the most searched for recipe on the BBC Food website – we’ve certainly been shoving ‘nana loaf down our throats at an alarming rate.
Yesterday we were donated 25 squidgy nearly-gone-off bananas. After an inevitable, huge banana smoothie, I was still left with fifteen waiting for me this morning. So I decided to invent a new type of Victoria sponge, entirely using bananas instead of butter. That’s right, totally dairy free!
Disclaimer: I am a proud member of the chuck-it-in-it’ll-be-fine school of cooking. I firmly believe a happy cook just throws stuff in a pan, rather than measuring 18g of this and 3.5 medium egg yolks of that; so take my measurements with a pinch of salt, so to speak. This recipe makes one biggish cake.
Ingredients
Cake
- 310g of self raising flour
- 6 or 7 medium soggy old bananas
- 310g of caster sugar
- 4 eggs.
Filling
- 3 or 4 battered old bananas
- 50g(ish) plain flour
- 100g(ish) icing sugar
- 50g(ish) cocoa/hot chocolate powder (if in doubt chuck more in. No one ever says “I wish this had less chocolate in).
Recipe
Cake
- Prewarm the oven to 180°C Fan (190°C conventional oven)
- Prepare two round cake tins with a bit of oil and some flour sprinkled on top (so it doesn’t stick)
- Chuck everything in a mixer or blender.
- Whizz it around until everything is no longer obviously just lumpy banana, and has become a cake mixture instead.
- Bung half in each tin.
- Cook for around 20-25 minutes. It should be brown rather than yellow. If you aren’t sure, stick a knife into the cake. If it comes out still gooey, give it another five minutes.
- Turn it out onto a cooling tray to cook down.
Filling
- Bung everything in the mixer and blitz it all. Can be lumpy if you like banana lumps, or make it smooth.
- Pop it in a pan on a low heat, stirring regularly. Don’t let it stick or burn!
- Once its thickened, allow it to cool for a few minutes. Unlike most icings or cake toppings though, you can apply Ermine warm to still warm sponge, since it won’t melt or dissolve.
Putting it all together
- Put one sponge half on a plate.
- Pour half the filling on, spreading it round evenly with a spatula.
- Plop the other half of the cake on top.
- Pour the rest of the filling on top, smoothing it round.
- Decorate with chocolate chips, banana slices, toffee pieces, marshmallows, whatever sounds good.
- Eat it…
- Make another one…?
There you go. Hope it goes well. Send me photos if you have a try at this.
Got any good topping ideas? Let me know in the comments…
thank you for this I like the wording of the recipe. I will definitely be trying this on me day off