Banana Cake with Chocolate Icing

Method

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1. Heat the oven to 175°C / 350°F. Grease a 20 cm square cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

   Mark done

2. Beat the butter and brown sugar for 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

3. Stir in the mashed banana. Sift the flour, cinnamon and salt over the mixture and fold in gently with the milk, until just combined.

   Mark done

4. Scrape the batter into the tin, level the top and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden and a skewer in the centre comes out clean.

   Mark done Start 35 min timer

5. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely, at least 1 hour.

   Mark done Start 10 min timer

6. For the icing, beat the icing sugar, cocoa, butter and milk together until smooth and glossy, adding a little more milk if it is stiff. Spread over the cooled cake.

   Mark done

Chef’s Tips

• Use bananas with black-spotted skins. Under-ripe bananas are starchy and make a bland, drier cake.
• Fold the flour in gently, only until you cannot see any dry flour. Overmixing makes the cake tough.
• Ice the cake only when it is completely cold. On a warm cake the icing melts and slides off.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• No self-raising flour to hand? Use the same weight of plain flour plus 2 teaspoons of baking powder per 150 g.

Pairing Suggestions

• A cup of tea
• A glass of cold milk
• Vanilla ice cream

Storage & Reheating

Keep covered at room temperature up to 3 days. Freeze un-iced for 2 months.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.