Gorgeous Banana Cake

Bananas + chocolate + cake = dying n going to heaven

I've had a banana every morning ever since I remember. It kickstarts my day! You'd think that it could get a little monotonous after so many years of eating the same humble fruit day after day. And I will admit that there have been days when I think that who'd want to eat this mushy baby food...but the next day I'm back to my routine! In fact I even used to call bananas as nanana as a kid. 

Oh who am I kidding!? 

I still call it sometimes, when I'm alone of course.... 

Damn it! That was supposed to be my l'il secret! 

Alright, so we've established that I eat a banana everyday but thats not the topic of this post. The topic of this post is the most delicious, moist, melt-in-your-mouth-Banana cake. Yes! I do claim that it is the Most Delicious cake ever because it is also topped with a luscious velvety chocolate ganache frosting. It doesn't end there! I also topped off the cake with almond slivers. The purrrrrrfect cake, wouldn't you say?! Lets get on to it then, shall we? 

Serves: 8 good slices

Complexity: ***

Time: 15 min + baking time

You'll need

3 medium bananas, mashed

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup cream or 1 stick butter

3 eggs (I used 4 because they were small ones)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup almond slivers (optional)

A pinch of love

For the frosting

100 gms dark chocolate, melted

3 -4 tbsp cream

2 tbsp sugar (Add more if you like frosting sweet)

Almond slivers for garnishing

Method

First step, preheat oven at 350F or 180C. Line a baking pan with butter and parchment paper. Set aside.

For the cake, first take the cream/ butter and sugar and whisk till its fluffy and light.

Add in your mashed bananas, vanilla extract, eggs. (I know, not a pretty sight, but gives such a pleasurable result!) Also sift in the flour along with the baking powder. You can also add the eggs one by one, but  it always works better for me if the flour is not over worked. If you mix the flour for more than a minute or two at the most, the cake will come out bready because the gluten in the flour gets activated. Most of the times you should always fold in the flour+ baking powder unless stated otherwise. That will give a beautiful texture to the cake. 

The batter is ready. Now if you want to add the almond slivers, you can. just fold those in as well. 

Pour the batter in the baking pan and let it bake for about 30 minutes. 

Check after that with a cake tester or use a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, give it another 4-5 minutes. Take it out once you the toothpick comes out clean. This is just hot out the oven. In all its golden glory.....looks gorgeous, isn't it? there's more though...wait..... :)

Place on a wire rack to let it cool. This should be around an hour or so. If you're planning not to use the frosting, you can eat this cake warm with vanilla or chocolate or coffee falvoured ice-cream. It tastes great that way as well!

For the frosting, melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler on the stove. Stir with spatula sporadically so the chocolate doesn't get burnt. Add the sugar and whisk till sugar is incorporated. Now add the cream and place the bowl in a bigger bowl that has ice in it. We want the frosting to be light and yet fudgy.  Whisk the ingredients together till soft peaks form. the frosting is ready to use. Spread it on the now cooled cake. If your cake is warm, the frosting will not hold its consistency. Top it all off with almond slivers. 

The best way to eat this cake- with your loved ones, of course! Oh n don't expect it to last long, it will be gone before you know it! Indulge! :)) (read further.....)

I know I usually end my posts after asking my readers to indulge sinfully in the pleasures of the culinary world, but I had more to share this time. I had previously made the same kind of banana cake with chocolate added to the cake batter. So it was a Choco Banana Cake. I served it with a drizzle of chocolate sauce which was so yummm!!!

You can add 150 gms of dark chocolate to the cake batter mentioned above and fold it in for a Choco Banana Gala. 

For the chocolate sauce, I took 100 gms of dark chocolate, 100 gms cream (is that about 1 cup?), 3-4 tbsp milk, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract or 2 tsp vanilla essence. Heat all the ingredients together on a very low simmer on a double boiler and stir constantly till everything is well combined and the chocolate has melted. Serve warm with love! Indulge! :))