Banana and sour cream cake

  

Normally, when I decide to make a banana cake, I never have time to let the bananas fully ripen and I’m left with the Herculean labour of trying to mash rock-hard fruit.  Not this time!  For once I actually managed to mash the bananas without breaking my wrist.

What attracted me to this recipe was the addition of sour cream as it cuts through the richness of the banana.  Often banana cake can be dense and heavy in texture but, like yoghurt, sour cream produces a lovely moist soft sponge. The thin layer of buttercream added a rich, sweetness which was just enough.

The smell of the raw cake mix, and while baking was divine – it was so intensely banana.  The addition of the chocolate chips adds little naughty pockets of sweetness; I used milk chocolate as my palate always favours sweet over bitter.

Ingredients

For the cake:

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
180g caster sugar
3 eggs
4 medium size very ripe bananas, mashed
120ml sour cream
350g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g chocolate chips

For the buttercream:

60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g icing sugar
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon golden syrup – you could use maple syrup or honey if you prefer

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/ fan oven 160C/ 350F/ gas mark 4.

Line a 20cm round springform tin with baking paper.

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – don’t skimp on this stage.  The mix will turn pale and look almost like whipped cream.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Mix in the mashed bananas and sour cream.

Fold in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and chocolate chips.

Spoon into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake for approximately an hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out cleanly.  

It is worth checking the cake after 40 minutes as ovens vary greatly.  Mine actually took over an hour and after an hour I covered the top loosely with foil to stop it over-browning.

Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before de-tinning and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.

Now make the buttercream: beat the butter until it is pale, light and whippy looking.

Add the icing sugar, sour cream and golden syrup and beat until well incorporated – if it looks too thin add an extra tablespoon of icing sugar.

Spread the buttercream over the top of the cooled cake.

Cut into thick slices.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.