Ripe
bananas sitting on the counter means it is time to bake. Often times I turn to
banana bread but this time I wanted a nice snacking cake. This recipe comes from
Canadian Jane Rodmell's 'Best Summer Weekends
Cookbook'.
It is lovely as
it combines the sweetness of ripe mashed bananas with cocoa powder and to make
it even more chocolately, the cake is frosted with Chocolate Ganache..
Ganache
is a French term referring to a smooth mixture of chopped chocolate and
heavy cream. While it is often poured over a
cake or torte for a smooth and shiny glaze, it can also be
whipped so it becomes a nice thick and spreadable frosting. And that is what
we are going to do here.
This cake is a snap to put together. Fifteen
minutes is about all you need. It is more like a quick bread in that you
do not use a mixer, just two bowls. One for the dry ingredients and one
for the wet ingredients. The fat is in liquid form, oil not butter, and
this gives the cake a wonderful
moistness and tenderness that keeps the cake soft even when refrigerated.
As far as the type of oil to use in this cake, I like to use safflower,
but a corn or sunflower oil is good. The
cake is baked in a large rectangular baking pan so it is a nice size for
family gatherings as it feeds up to 16 people.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180
degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non
stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13
inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the
sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In another large bowl,
whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the
dry ingredients and stir, or whisk,
until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter
into the prepared pan and bake
for about 35
to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let
cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.
Ganache: Place the
chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof, bowl. Set aside.
Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately
pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir
until smooth. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and
fluffy. Then spread the frosting on top of the cake. Can garnish with dried
banana chips.
Serves 16 people.
Source:
Rodmell, Jane.
Best Summer Weekends Cookbook. Cottage Life Books. Toronto: 2004.
Machine
Translations are provided by an automated service and the accuracy of the
translations are not up to the standards of human translation. Machine
translations are provided for use by people with little or no English
skills. We recommend that people proficient in English use the English pages
rather then the machine translated pages.
Use of materials on Joyofbaking.com is
entirely at the risk of the user and Joyofbaking.com, Stephanie Jaworski or
Rick Jaworski
will not be responsible for any damages directly or indirectly resulting
from the use.
This
website and the contents are not endorsed or sponsored by the owner
of the "Joy of Cooking" series of books or its publisher Simon & Schuster,
Inc.
Content in any form may
not be copied or used without written permission of Stephanie Jaworski,
Joyofbaking.com. Students and non profit educators may use content without
permission with proper credit.
Page loading ... Please wait.
