Banana Cake with Passionfruit Icing

It's been a little over two weeks since making Angus' birthday cake and I haven't so much as looked at anything baking related since. I have missed it. Baking is a necessity for me. Love the entire process, from the selection of a recipe, to the tasting of the finished product. Today I chose a classic, with a twist, using a recipe I haven't attempted previously. The thing that struck me about this one, is just how simple it looked upon first glance. And it was every bit as straight forward to make. Bananas are back to their bountiful best, much to the delight of every member in our household. When they were scarce and painfully expensive, those were some dark days.


As per usual, I had my loyal assistant in the mix, questioning each step and ingredient and utensil I touched. I have a sneaking suspicion he's in it for the beaters/wooden spoon. The mention of them every 45 seconds and the insistence that "there is enough mixture in the cake tin now Mama", only add weight to my theory. Taken from my old faithful Women's Weekly COOK book, this cake is heaven sent. The passionfruit icing is a luscious addition and has left me wanting seconds... and thirds... and so on.

Banana Cake with passionfruit icing

125g Butter, softened

3/4 cup (165g) firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups (225g) Self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 cup mashed banana

1/2 cup (120g) sour cream

1/4 cup (60ml) milk

Passionfruit Icing

1 1/2 cups (240g) icing sugar

1 teaspoon soft butter

2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp, approximately

Preheat oven to moderate (180/160 degrees fan-forced)

Grease 15cm x 25cm loaf pan; line base with baking paper

Beat butter and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined

Transfer mixture to large bowl

Using wooden spoon, stir in sifted dry ingredients, banana, cream and milk

Spread mixture into pan

Bake, uncovered, about 50 minutes

Stand cake 5 minutes then turn onto wire rack; turn cake top-side up to cool

Make passionfruit icing

Spread cold cake with passionfruit icing

Place icing sugar in small heatproof bowl.

Stir in butter and enough pulp to give a firm paste

Stir over hot water until icing is of a spreadable consistency, taking care not to overheat

Use immediately

Recipe note: 2 large ripe bananas make 1 cup of mashed banana. It is important that the bananas are over-ripe: not only do they mash easily but, if they are underripe, the cake will be too heavy. A banana's natural starch is converted to sugar during the ripening process and it's this natural sugar that contributes to the correct balance of ingredients. The cake develops a crusty edge due to this sugar content.