Cinnamon Cake with Sticky Bananas
If you are a great lover of the delicious banana and want to try something different to the classic ‘banana cake’, I recommend you try this simple cinnamon cake with sticky hot bananas on the side. The combination is superb, and even more lush with the addition of a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped vanilla cream.
I prefer to use the small ‘Ladies Finger’ banana (or often known as the ‘Monkey’ banana) as they definitely have a sweeter more condensed ‘banana’ flavour than the traditional ‘Cavendish’ banana (dessert banana) – which can be used if you cannot find the small, sweeter variation.
These sticky bananas are delicious hot, but equally as tasty when served cold.
Ingredients
-
Cinnamon Cake:
-
125g butter- softened
-
185g castor sugar
-
2 large eggs
-
185g self-raising flour- sieved
-
2 tsp cinnamon powder
-
4tbsp milk
-
Citrus Icing:
-
200g icing sugar- sieved
-
4 tbsp fresh lime and lemon juice- basically 1 each
-
Rind of both the lime and the lemon
-
Hot Sticky Bananas:
-
100-125g butter
-
2 tbsp brown sugar
-
Large bunch of ‘Monkey’ bananas- approximately 12-16
-
1 lemon- juice only
Instructions
-
To make cake:
-
01 Prepare a medium size non-stick loaf tin: line base with non-stick baking paper.
-
02 Place softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, beat well and add eggs, followed by sifted flour, cinnamon and milk. Mix well to a soft dropping consistency.
-
03 Pour into prepared tin and bake in a moderate oven for 40-45 minutes.
-
To make citrus icing:
-
04 Blend icing sugar with fresh lemon and lime juice. Add rind.
-
05 When the cake is baked immediately drench with the citrus icing and allow to cool in the tin before turning out.
-
To make hot sticky bananas:
-
06 Remove skins from all the bananas and either halve or leave whole. Cover with fresh lemon juice.
-
07 Melt butter in a non-stick frying pan. When foaming, add bananas and lemon juice, and fry with brown sugar until caramelised and sticky.
-
08 Serve hot with slices of the cinnamon cake, and perhaps a dollop of vanilla ice cream for an extra lusciousness.
Notes
This cake is very easy to make and freezes well if you wish to make ahead, and choose small, sweet tasting Indian bananas to accompany, as they are absolutely delicious when quickly fried in butter and sugar etc. If not able to find the naturally sweet 'monkey' banana, then do use the standard dessert banana.
