Banana and salted caramel cake

Yes banana is healthy, but when combined with copious amounts of butter, sugar and cream, the benefits are most probably cancelled out...

100g soft brown sugar
50g soft brown sugar
150g unsalted butter
250g plain flour
one teaspoon of cinnamon
half a teaspoon of ground ginger (optional)
half a teaspoon of nutmeg (optional)
one and a half teaspoons of baking powder
two eggs, beaten
one vanilla pod
three bananas, mashed
50 ml milk
a dash of orange juice

equal weights of butter and soft brown sugar (I used 100g of each and still had enough to fill a jar size 190g)
coarse sea salt - to taste
double cream

Preheat the oven to 200C and line two 18-20cm cake tins.

Lined tins.

Cream together the butter and sugar.
Deseed the vanilla pod, and add to the butter and sugar.
Gradually beat in the eggs to the butter and sugar - if you do it too quickly, the mixture will curdle and separate.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixture and whisk.
Then add all of the milk and orange juice, and whisk.
Once thoroughly combined, add the rest of the dry ingredients.
Add the mashed bananas to the mix and stir together.
Pour into the tins and cook for 30 - 40 minutes.

Cake.



 

Salted caramel sauce.
 



Melt the sugar and butter in a sauce pan over a medium heat.
As soon as they have both fully melted, take off the heat.
Then add the salt and cream, and stir.
Leave aside to cool and thicken.
When lukewarm, drizzle onto the cake.

I topped the cake with extra pieces of cake.

For texture, you could add toasted walnuts to the mixture.

 

Caramel sauce

Some days you just need to indulge. Butter, sugar, butter, sugar, cream... probably not for the fainthearted! This ridiculously rich caramel sauce can be used for banoffee pie, to drizzle over ice cream, or to eat straight out of the jar. Don't tell anyone I said that.

To make 3 small jars:
150g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
half a teaspoon sea salt
a dash of nutmeg
80ml double cream

DUNK!

Aside from the cream, chuck it all in a saucepan and leave on a medium heat to melt.
When the mixture it is about half melted, add the cream.
Stir the mixture every now and then, to make sure everything is melting.
Once you have a glossy mixture, take off the heat and leave to cool.
As it cools the mixture thickens, so place into sterilised jars once the mixture has cooled down a little.
Remember to seal jars, or a skin might form over the mixture.
This can be stored in the fridge for three days