Banana Caramel Cake

Yes! It tastes as good as it sounds!  Better really!  This is another one of those recipes that was so good I made it twice within a two week period.  As a matter of fact I bought bananas that were past their prime so I could make this again.  As I’m typing this the photos are taunting me.  I had no intentions of baking tonight but find myself  eyeing up the the bananas on the counter and checking out the clock. 

I have to tell you. This is my favorite banana cake.  All of the ones I’ve made (except this one) to date I have been very good but for me, this is it.  While I won’t stop trying other recipe this is the one I’ll turn to when there’s bananas that need using up and no new recipe to try.

I found the recipe on Technicolor Kitchen after seeing a photo of it on Tastespotting.  The cake on its own is moist but the homemade caramel that is soaked in makes it even more so.  And, I just love the warmth of the cloves, cinnamon, and fresh grated nutmeg that are added to the batter.

Banana Caramel Cake

Cake:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cups (300ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil as in the original recipe)
1 ¾ cups (350g) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (75g) coarsely chopped walnuts (omitted)
85g (3oz) dark chocolate, broken into small pieces (size of chips)(omitted)
3 ripe bananas, diced (I pureed them in my mini food processor & mine were small)

Caramel:
½ cup (88g) firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Butter and flour a tube pan or a bundt pan that can hold 12 cups*; preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. (I used a tube easier for me to get out)
Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the sugar has been incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. (I added in the pureed bananas)
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is incorporated.
Once the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the walnuts, chocolate and bananas. Gently fold them in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don’t over mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then test the cake to see if it’s done by poking a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake the cake for another 5 to 10 minutes. In Ivonne’s oven, this cake took 55 minutes; in mine, 1 hour. (Mine was done in 45 minutes, I find more often than not everything is done sooner rather than later in my oven.  Adjust accordingly for yours.)
About 5 to 10 minutes before the cake is done, make the caramel by combining all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally to ensure that it doesn’t burn. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer. Immediately pour the caramel over the cake, stopping every now and then to let the caramel sink in. If the caramel pools in spots, poke more holes to allow it to sink in.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once it’s cool, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and then unmold it onto a plate.

The Twins have been out of town playing baseball in Cooperstown, NY since last Saturday which is why you haven’t seen me around.  I thought I would have a break but except for Sunday’s games all of their other games have been broadcast over the internet on the Cooperstown site! Of course that meant instead of having a baseball free week and blogging (& commenting) I’ve been watching and cheering on the boys and their team. 

They just lost making it their last game of the tournament. It was also their third game of the day.  A day which started off with warm ups at the field at 7:30am (after winning and finishing up last night at 9:30pm) in cold rainy weather.  Though they lost they have a lot to be proud of.  Out of a 102 teams they made it to the final four and were seeded third!  Not too shabby.  It’s back to work next week as they have the Elite 24 at Disney in July!  Go Fire!

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