banoffee cake...

There is a very strict lunch policy in our local school, which I'm a big fan of. No sweets or crisps or fizzy drinks of any kind. Since all the children have the same kind of healthy lunches, it really cuts down on the nagging time in the supermarket, where the only  major difference of opinion nowadays is the dreaded cereal isle. Things are quite sensible as well in the pre-school that little Lily goes to, although I do sometimes slip a slice of homemade banana loaf cake into her lunchbox as it is her very favorite. She loves her school and was very fond of her teacher. So much so that she liked to share her slice of cake with her. But recently her beloved Zoozan (aka Susan) left to start a job closer to home, Lily asked for a banana cake for her leaving party, which I duly supplied.

I used this recipe from Lily Higgins book 'Make Bake Love' instead of my usual recipe for more visual impact. The cake itself is lovely, but the frosting is the real star of this show. I will definitely be making it again to ice some buns or cupcakes I think. Ideal for using up bananas that you've kept for a bit too long. I used a milder corn oil instead of olive oil as the olive oils I had were quite strongly flavoured.

This cake turned out just like the picture in the book.

Banoffee Cake

Serves 10–12

This butterless banana cake is perfectly moist and beautifully balanced with the toffee icing. If you don’t want lashings of toffee gorgeousness atop your cake, then just butter the sides of the tin and coat with demerara sugar for a sweet crunch on the cake’s edges.

For the cake:
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
170g demerara sugar
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla essence
225ml olive oil

For the toffee icing:
220g demerara sugar
60g butter
60ml milk
240g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
banana chips, to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 28cm springform tin and dust with flour or demerara sugar (see note above).

2. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar in an electric mixer on high until thickened and light in colour. Fold in the mashed banana and vanilla. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while still mixing.

4. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed, taking care not to over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.

5. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden. Cool fully on a rack before icing.

6. To make the icing, place the sugar, butter and milk into a pan over a high heat. Stir everything well and bring to the boil. Keep stirring and boil for 1 minute.

7. Remove from the heat and beat in half of the icing sugar. Allow to cool slightly, then add the vanilla and the rest of the sugar. Beat well until it thickens.

8. Spread the icing over the cake straightaway, as the icing will harden slightly. Top with banana chips.