Banana Cake

The banana bread’s slightly drier, more reserved cousin is the Scandinavian-style banana cake (banankake). It comes out lighter in color than your average banana bread and is a great coffee companion. Or a dessert. Or… Really, eat it whenever, we don’t judge. Ten-minute prep time and fifty minutes in the oven is all the time you need for this recipe.

Reference image

Hardware

A standard 8.5 x 4.5 x 3-inch loaf pan, lightly coated with no-stick baking spray.

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 7 tbsp butter
• 13 tbsp small, dark (70%+) chocolate chips (200 g)

Steps

1. Heat oven to 350˚.
2. Mash bananas with a fork in a small bowl – it’s fine if they’re a bit chunky. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Stir eggs and vanilla into the dry goods.
5. Cut (or tear) butter into small cubes and add to mixture. Stir until butter is evenly distributed.
6. Stir in bananas.
7. Stir in chocolate until the mixture has a doughy consistency.
8. Using a spatula, smoothen batter evenly into the loaf pan.
9. Bake on the bottom rack for 50 minutes. As always, do the toothpick check if you’re unsure if the loaf is done. If it comes out clean from the center of the cake, you’re a-OK.

Let the cake rest in the pan for ten minutes, then flip it over, and slide it onto a wire rack. The patient among us will want to let it rest for another hour. Slice and serve with butter if you so desire.

Don’t fret if you only got unripe bananas. Give them a good pounding while they’re in their skin and you’ll achieve a facsimile of ripeness.