One of the great things about bananas is that the over-ripe ones are just as useful as the ripe ones. When baking, it is actually better to have very ripe bananas as these have a stronger flavour and make a moister cake.
This is a great children’s recipe as it is so quick and easily to prepare.
Banana Yoghurt Cake
- 125g butter or margarine
- 175g brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 200g plain yoghurt
- 1 1/3 cups plain flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (optional)
Icing
- 200g cream cheese, room temp
- 1/3 cup icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 tablespoon mashed banana (optional)
- 1/3 cup shredded coconut (optional)
- Preheat oven to 180C (355F). Grease and flour a 22cm springform pan. Line the base with baking paper.
- Cream butter/margarine and brown sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until pale and creamy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add mashed banana and yoghurt and fold into mixture with a spoon.
- Sift flour and baking powder into the bowl and add coconut if desired. Fold into the mixture gently until just combined.
- Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. To check, insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
- Remove cake from oven and stand for five to ten minutes before removing from pan. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Variations
This recipe is easy to adapt to suit individual tastes.
Cake mix: Reduce sugar to 150g and add one tablespoon of honey. Brown sugar can be replaced by caster sugar if preferred.
Yoghurt. Use natural plain yoghurt or for a more distinctive taste use Greek-style plain yoghurt. Some flavoured yoghurts, such as honey yoghurt, will also work well.
Icing. Instead of sprinkling with shredded coconut, mix one tablespoon of desiccated coconut into the icing mixture. Alternatively, use toasted shredded or flaked coconut.
Instructions for Toasted Coconut
Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Spread flaked or shredded coconut in a single layer on a baking paper-lined tray. Place into pre-heated oven and cook for five to ten minutes until coconut starts to brown, stirring every three to four minutes to prevent burning.
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