I’ve got overriped bananas again, and this time, I was thinking of baking a lighter banana sponge cake. I was worried though, that the weight of the mashed bananas will ‘weigh’ the cake down. There are a few recipes out there, and I am not really impressed by them. So, since my mother is Indonesian and I really like the way cakes are baked in Indonesia, I decided to create this recipe, using an Indonesian baking method.
It is a bit like the HummingBird Cake, but without the cream cheese topping. It is a bit like the walnut butter cake, but without the bits of chocolate. The result? Light but buttery, with a strong banana smell but not overwhelmingly so. Easier on the stomach than the pound cake, and more fulfilling than the sponge. Afterall, it is a cake that uses both the sponge and creaming methods. Hm… suffice to say I will likely do this again and probably with slight variations just for the fun of it.
The cake is adapted from the UK pound cake in terms of baker’s ratio, Indonesian baking method with spices and walnuts and the fact that I have bananas to feature. It is fast to bake.
I used the Thermomix/blender to whip up this one. took me a total of 10 minutes to get the cake batter ready, and I have modified the baking procedures to cut the baking by 3/4 of what it usually takes, without it cracking, drying out, or unevenly baked. I didn’t even need to mash the bananas, or sift the flours. Perfect for a lazy mum.
Have fun trying out my new recipe!
Banana Walnut Cake – Indonesian Style
Ingredients
- 200 g Cake Flour or 200g self-raising flour sifted thrice
Banana Cream Mixture:
- 3 very ripe Bananas medium size - this can range from 2-4 depending on your preference
- 5 Egg Yolks
- 200 g Unsalted Butter at room temperature can be increased to 250g if you want a richer cake
- 80 g Caster Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder or Mixed Spice
- Optional: Raisins chocolate chips (coat them with flour before adding into the mixture while folding the flours)
Meringue:
- 5 Egg Whites
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Tartar Powder optional or replace with lemon juice, I don't use either
Topping:
- Chopped Walnuts enough to cover top of cake - not to coarse or it will be hard to cut the cake later but not too a powder either
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 160ºC to 180ºC.
Banana Butter Cream
- To make the banana cream mixture, put the butter with the sugar into the Thermomix with the butterfly attachment and whip it at Speed 3 for 2 minutes, if butter is cold, set temperature to 37ºC. If not using the Thermomix, just beat butter with sugar till it turns almost white.
- Add the eggs one at a time, each time after the egg has been emulsified.
- If using Thermomix, remove the butterfly attachment and blend the whole bananas, else mash the bananas ahead of time.
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the banana cream and mix till just incorporated. Do not overbeat or overstir.
Meringue
- Make the meringue, whip the egg whites with the tartar powder until frothy, then add in the sugar gradually, and beat at medium speed until medium peak is formed. On the Thermomix, it is beating at Speed 5 and for 3-5 minutes.
- Fold 1/3 of the Meringue and 1/3 of the flour into the Banana Cream mixtures carefully, then finish with the rest, 1/3 of the meringue and flour at a time.
- Pour the batter into a 10 inch diameter cake tin. I used a spring form and lined only the bottom.
- Top the cake with the chopped walnuts.
- Bake on medium rack for 60 minutes.
- Note: For speed, I baked the cake on a low rack at 170ºC for 20 minutes, then increased to 180ºC for the next 25 minutes. This is a faster way of baking, the cake will be evenly browned top and bottom and will not crack. If you do not have time to watch or do this adjustment, just go ahead and set it at 160ºC for an hour for security and guarantee.
