Banana Cake & Almond Macaroons

I am very pleased with myself today..:P I made almond macaroons and banana cake all at the same time - after work. (LOL! Don't you just admire my energy?) I added a bit of coffee powder to my almond macaroons and it tasted great! I am not coffee person, but somehow that little bit of coffee powder does add to the flavor.

Banana cake is a success! Why? Cos my super-duper fussy baby boy (i know he is no longer a baby but in my eyes he will always be my baby) liked it so much that he ate 3 slices of banana cake! I gave him one slice and he kept asking me for more! Not easy to get him to eat or try new stuff!

Here's the recipe for the banana cake i got from "Mind Your Body" segment (dunno when but many months ago..i collect recipes that i like). Anyway, the reason why i am able to post the recipe here is cos i have no choice but to type the recipe when i had to throw away the old newspapers..hahahaha.. Otherwise, i am just too lazy to type any recipes if i have them already nicely printed on books!

I didn't make any icing cos i am never really a fan of icing and iced cake can't really keep as long as the un-iced one..i suppose unless i want to "prettify" the cake, otherwise, no need icing imo. Here's the recipe in detail...

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BANANA CAKE

Ingredients:-

• 130g butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup ripe mashed bananas (about two large bananas)
• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 120ml buttermilk
• 120g chopped walnuts (optional)


METHOD

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C. Grease a 20cm baking tin and line with baking paper
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the mashed bananas (add a little flour if the mixture starts to curdle).
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together into a bowl, then fold in to the mixture along with the buttermilk and the walnuts if you are using them.
4. Turn the mixture into the baking pan and bake for around 45mins or until a skewer inserted in the cake cakes out clean.
5. Turn out onto a rack and allow to cool.
6. Either dust the top with icing sugar or top with lemon icing.


LEMON ICING

1 cup icing sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs butter
boiling water

PUT icing sugar, lemon juice and butter into a small bowl. Add a tiny amount of boiling water – just enough to soften the butter. Mix ingredients till smooth and of even consistency for spreading. Add a little more water if mixture is too thick and more icing if too runny. Spread evenly over the top of the cake.

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NOTE (Jan 17, 09): Baked Banana Cake today and added a bit more sugar (abt 20g more) and it taste even better imo. Bananas - mashed up and measured is about 2.5 'del-monte' bananas.