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BANANA AND CARDAMOM CAKE
375 g bananas (peeled weight)
1 tbsp lemon juice
200 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
90 g golden caster sugar
90 g light muscovado sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp vegetable oil
To finish
10 green cardamom pods
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
1
Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas3-4; line a square 20cm cake tin with baking parchment
2
Break the bananas into short chunks, then put them into a bowl and mash roughly with a fork; do not turn them into a puree; stir in the lemon juice
3
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt
4
Break open the cardamom pods, remove the dark brown seeds, then crush them to a fine powder using a pestle and mortar; mix them with the 2 tbsp golden caster sugar and set aside for later
5
Put the golden caster and muscovado sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer; break the eggs into the sugar, then beat, using the whisk for three to four minutes until light and creamy; pour in the oil, slowly with the mixer on a moderate speed
6
Fold the flour and baking powder into the mixture; fold in the crushed bananas, briefly, taking care to distribute them evenly but without crushing them any further
7
Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin; sprinkle the surface with the sugar and cardamom mixture; bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until lightly firm on top, remove from the oven and leave to settle in its tin, for about 20 minutes
8
Lift the cake from its tin, then place on a rack and leave to cool; cut the cake into three equal rectangles, then cut those into four to give 12 small pieces; serve on their own with a fruit salad