Banana Cake

Moist Banana Cake 

Here is a simple recipe for a banana cake. The cake will keep well in a sealed cake tin while in the tropics, and may be stored in the fridge if room allows for even longer. That is of course if you can resist the delicious flavour when its time for a tea or coffee.

60g. Butter
1/2     Cup Sugar (caster)
1        Egg
2        Medium Bananas mashed (4 small work ok)
1 1/2       Cups Flour
3 tspn.    Baking powder
1 tspn.    Mixed Spice
1/4       Cup Milk

Using a hand whisk, in a mixing bowl cream the softened butter and sugar. Add egg and mix in well, fold in the mashed bananas with the sifted flour and baking powder, add spice and the milk, whisk until well combined. Place in a greased 20cm (8") tin or small loaf tin and bake in a moderate oven (175-180 deg C) for 25-30 min

Note: the cooking time is only a suggestion, I have found more banana requires slightly longer cooking time, test the cake with a skewer to check its cooked. 

Our cup measurement is 250 ml and Teaspoon (tspn.) is 5 ml
60g = 2.2 ozs.

You can use self raising flour, we don't because in the tropics the rising agent appears to be less active the longer it is onboard. 

This banana cake is a good keeper – wrapped in foil it will be good for four days or more in the fridge.

ANZAC Biscuits

125g Butter
2         Tbs golden syrup
1         Tsp Baking soda
1         Tbs Boiling water
1/2         Cups Coconut
1         Cup rolled oats
3/4         Cup of flour

Melt butter golden syrup in a saucepan large enough to hold and mix all ingredients. Once melted cool slightly, Dissolve baking soda in in the tablespoon of boiling water and add to the sauce pan with the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Place rounded teaspoon of mixture on to an oven tray covered with baking paper, (alternative is a greased baking tray), allowing room for spreading, flatten the balls with the back of a spoon.

Bake at 180 deg C for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Remove from tray quickly after removing from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Apple Tea Cake

Image courtesy of Google.

The thing I like about this cake is its simplicity, it is not overly sweet and doesn't require a great deal of butter/margarine as some cakes do. An electric mixer is not required, this one is easily whipped up with a hand held whisk.

Apple Tea Cake Ingredients
1 Level Tbs marg or butter
4 Level Tbs sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbs milk
1 Heaped cup flour
2 Tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 Tsp vanilla essence

Base Ingredients
Apple slices usually one apple is enough
1 Tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 Tbs butter

Turn on the oven to 180 deg C

To prepare the base:
Cut a round of baking paper to fit a 20cm round cake tin
Grease/oil the cake tin
Place the baking paper round in the cake tin
Sprinkle the base with brown sugar and Cinnamon
Cut small pieces of butter and place into the brown sugar
Arrange the rounds or thin slices of apple over the base to totally cover the bake paper
Set aside and make the cake batter.

The cake batter:
Whisk butter and sugar together in a bowl, add egg and all moist ingredients in a bowl, whisk until well combined. Sift in flour and baking powder gradually until well combined and is a smooth batter. Pour into the cake tin on top of the apple slices.

Place in the centre rack of the stove and cook for 20 - 30 Minutes cake is cooked when a skewer comes out clean.
Let cooked cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Loosen around the edges with a knife, turn out onto a wire rack, turn the cake over on to its base leaving the paper on.

When cool cut into wedged serve and enjoy

To simplify cake just oil/grease the tin, place in the batter, cover the top with the apple slices and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cook as per the instructions.

To really simplify the cake just omit the apple all together and sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon on the top when cooked. However it just wont taste as good as the full recipe cake with the caramelised apple slices in cinnamon on the base.

Notes:

We no longer use self-raising flour, this is for a couple of reasons, being on a boat it helps with storage not having to carry 3 or 4 variety's of flour. For example plain self-raising whole grain and bread making flour. We also found the raising agents don't work as well as the flour is coming toward the use by date. This time is also reduced in the warmer weather of Asia. So by adding the raising ingredient when mixing we have found the finish product has risen better.  

Cinnamon Crumble Cake

Cinnamon Crumble Cake

Cake:
2      Cups flour
4      Tbs baking powder
1      Pinch salt
85g. Butter or marg.
1/2   Cup castor sugar
1      Egg
3/4   Cup milk

Topping:
1/4   Cup flour
1/2   Tsp baking powder
1/4   Cup sugar
1/2   Tsp cinnamon
55g.  Butter

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add sugar and lightly beaten egg and milk and mix into a soft dough. Spoon mixture into a 8" cake tin.

Topping, Combine flour baking powder sugar cinnamon in a small bowl. Rub in butter with your fingers until mixture is soft and smooth. Push topping through a course sieve on to the top of the cake.

Bake a 175 C. for 40-45 min. (a skewer is clean when inserted and removed)

Cook's notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cup measurements: 1 Tsp (teaspoon) equals 5 ml; 1 Tbs (tablespoon) equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | Cups are lightly packed and all eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.