The House smells like Banana!!!

Hi there! I've just came back from the UNIBUDS winter retreat, it was really a good experience! Through the 3 days trip, I've really learnt a lot about Dhama, made a lot friends, and what else? the food was really good! Haha! Something I was really not expecting at all! But anyway, it was really fun, would be posting more of the details and pictures after I get the pictures from Chris and others! Anyway, at this very moment, I am enjoying every bite of this moist banana cake that I made before I went to winter retreat, I had one piece before that, and it was really delicious! After a couple of days in the fridge, it still tastes not bad! You guys should really try this recipe, I got it from Exclusively Foods (after doing me research on the best recipe) and I would not have agree more with the comments on that website, it is simply aromatic, moist and delicious! I still recalling that very day when I baked the cake and the whole house was filled with this aromatic banana smell! I'd definitely be making this cake again, when I have got heaps of banana, that is XD !!!

Anyway, I changed the recipe a bit according to my preference, for the original one, check it out at Exclusively Food...

This recipe makes a moist, dense banana cake with a smooth cream cheese icing. The cake doesn't rise much so it has a nice flat top for presentation. Unlike Exclusively Food, I decided to add banana slices with melted malt on top of the cake, this gives another soft texture of the banana on top of the dense the cake. Serve the cake at room temperature...

Ingredients:

Cake

2-3 large bananas

125g butter softened (if using unsalted butter add 1/4 teaspoon salt with the flour)

330g (1 1/2 cups) sugar

300g very ripe, mashed banana

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract(1 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)

2 large eggs (minimum weight of 59g)

100ml (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) buttermilk

250g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Cream Cheese Icing & Topping

90g cream cheese

45g softened butter

210g (1 2/3 cups) icing sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 large bananas (sliced diagonally)

3 tbsp malt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius fan-forced. If you don't have a fan-forced oven, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 22cm diameter spring form pan.Place butter, sugar, banana, vanilla and eggs in a food processor, process for about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of processor.

2. Add buttermilk and pulse to combine.Sift flour, salt (if using) and bicarbonate of soda together into a large bowl. Add flour mixture to food processor and process until just combined.

3. Pour batter into prepared tin.

>Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer or knife inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Leave cake to cool on a wire rack.Spread cooled cake with cream cheese icing.

4. To make cream cheese icing. beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sifted icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add lemon juice and beat to combine. Spread icing over top and sides of cooled cake.

5. As for the banana topping, simply slice the bananas diagonally and arrange in a circular array on top of the cake. Melt the malt in hot steam for about 5 minutes or until liquefy, pour on top the cake. Done. To keep longer, store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.