I don't make banana cakes too often as I don't particularly like them. There's too many large, bland (and often dry) ones. Or else they have that slight stickiness and a none too pleasant banana smell about them. Instead I've been happier to freeze my ultra ripe bananas for smoothies instead for their luscious creaminess.
But there is one banana cake recipe I've always kept. Many moons ago one of the playgroup mothers made this cake and it's about the only one I've ever loved.
It's not a deep, high-rise cake but sits low in the tin, is wonderfully moist, slightly spicy and has the crunchiness of the walnuts and chewy sultanas.
Serve it as a cake but it's just as good straight from the oven as a dessert with some whipped cream or vanilla mascarpone. I like to serve it with Greek yoghurt.
Banana, walnut & sultana cake
2 bananas, peeled and chopped
1 cup walnuts, quartered
1 cup sultanas
2/3 cup soft brown sugar
100g butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup self-raising flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line a 23cm cake tin.
Mix the bananas, walnuts, sultanas and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Beat the egg and melted butter together and stir in to the banana mixture.
Sift the flour and spices together then add them to the mix, stirring gently just to incorporate.
Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
