Banana toffee cake

Banana toffee cake

Despite only being back one week, it seems like we’ve been home for ages (don’t you hate that about holidays?). It could be because I’ve already baked a cake, macarons, white chocolate and macadamia cookies and a chewy chocolate slice. I think I have developed a slight addiction. Either that or I’m making up for four weeks away from the kitchen.

Banana toffee cake

We had dinner with my parents last week and mum always lets me bring dessert (ok she probably doesn’t let me so much as likes me doing it but she knows I love testing new recipes) and after flicking through my pile of recipes I settled on banana toffee cake.

I would liken it to a dessert version of banana bread. It’s dense and sweet but the yoghurt icing, which was my addition, cuts the sweetness making it just perfect. The banana flavour is quite strong but not overpowering. It’s the perfect dessert or very fancy afternoon tea.

Although it looks rather decadent, it’s really easy to make. I didn’t even burn the toffee.

Making the toffee

Make the toffee first so it has time to set. Heat the sugar and water together in a small saucepan over low heat and stir them until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up until the mixture starts to boil. Leave it to bubble away until it turns golden. Do not stir it at all. It takes about 10 minutes.

Toffee cooling

Once it’s nice and golden, pour it out onto a lined baking sheet and leave it to set. Try and spread it out a bit so it’s not too thick. I have no idea how mine got that big separation in the middle. I swear it was flat when I poured it out.

The cake ingredients

Butter and sugar

The actual cake is really easy to make. Beat the butter and sugar together in the electric mixer until they’re smooth and creamy. The recipe calls for raw caster sugar which I guess would give it a richer flavour. I didn’t have any so used regular caster sugar and it was delicious so I only imagine the raw stuff makes it even better.

Banana and more

Add the rest of the ingredients and beat it until they are just mixed in.

Adding the toffee

Very carefully break the toffee up into shards. I would highly recommend putting a piece of baking paper over the top of it as you’re cracking it up. That’s unless you would like toffee from one end of your kitchen to the other. Also keep you eyes shut.

Add 1/3 of the toffee shards to the cake batter and gently fold them through.

Ready for baking

Spread the batter into the tin and bake the cake at 140C fan-forced for 45-50 minutes. When it is ready, leave it to cool completely in the tin.

Ready for decorating

I made up the icing and beat together butter and yoghurt then added the icing sugar and kept beating until it was nice and white and fluffy. You might need to play around with how much icing sugar you use to get it to the right consistency.

Iced banana cake

Take the cake out of the tin and spread it with the icing making it nice and pretty.

Banana toffee cake

Spike it up with the leftover toffee shards.

Banana toffee cake

Serve it up. I think it’s great on its own but a big blob of yoghurt definitely wouldn’t hurt. Enjoy!

So what about you? What have you baked recently?

Banana toffee cake

Banana toffee cake

recipe adapted from Australian Good Food April 2012

serves 10

• 175g butter, softened
• 2/3 cup raw caster sugar (I used regular caster sugar)
• 2 overripe bananas, broken into chunks
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2/3 cup almond meal
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup natural yoghurt

Toffee

• 1 cup raw caster sugar (I used regular caster sugar)
• 1/2 cup water

Icing

• 60g butter, softened
• 1 tbsp plain yoghurt
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar

 Start by making the toffee. Place the caster sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat it, stirring, over low heat until the sugar has totally dissolved. Turn up the heat and let it boil without stirring until it turns golden (about 10 minutes). Pour it out onto a lined baking tray and leave it to set.

Pre-heat the oven to 140C fan-forced and grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper so that it extends over the sides.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the banana chunks, eggs, flour, almond meal, baking powder and yoghurt and beat until just combined.

Take the bowl off the stand. 

Break the toffee into shards.

Fold 1/3 of the toffee through the cake batter and then spread the batter into the cake tin and flatten the top.

Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.

Make the icing by beating the butter and yoghurt together until smooth. Add the icing sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy and white.

Spread the cool cake with the icing and then decorate with toffee shards.

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