Sunday 1 February 2009

Upside down (caramelized) banana chocolate cake

I had a wine tasting class on Friday. All day...
And so now I can say things like ''2001 was good year for Bordeaux wines'', and ''this is a full bodied, balanced wine with a wonderful bouquet...'' (Kind of…there's slightly more to it...)
Though I can't say drinking wine before noon is something I can see myself doing too often...
For a birthday party on Saturday I decided to bake a favorite; an upside down caramelized banana chocolate cake. Its rich and moist, crazy and gooey…
I cut it into bite sized cubes, creating a balanced sensation; the combination of crunchy chocolate and bananas, topped with one circular banana slice, glazed in caramel. naturally…


Upside down caramelized banana chocolate cake
(Approx 48 bite size squares)

For the caramel
3/4 cup Demerara sugar
1Tbs water
25g unsalted butter
1 Tbs. pure maple syrup
2-3 firm but ripe bananas

For the cake
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 egg yolk1
1/2 cups white flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
80g unsalted Butter
2-3 mashed bananas
100g Dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely cut
2 Tbs Frangelico liqueur (Optional)

To serve with
1 cup roasted coconut flakes mixed
with a lightly sweetened whipped cream

In the Tart Tatin pan over medium heat, add the sugar, and water. Heat the mixture until it begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the maple syrup and butter and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the discs of banana slices so that they cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and egg yolks. Set aside.
Flour the chocolate pieces. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, sift together the flour, the sugar, the baking powder and salt. Add the remaining 6 butter and beat on medium-low speed until the butter forms pea-size pieces. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the milk mixture beat until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the banana mash and chocolate pieces and liqueur, and stir with a wooden spoon.
Spoon the batter over the bananas, spreading it evenly.

Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Run a small offset spatula or a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a flat serving plate upside down on top of the pan and invert the pan and plate together. Let stand for 5 minutes, and then lift off the pan.

Slice and serve warm with coconut whipped cream.
For a simpler, less festive version, omit the caramelized banana pat, and bake in a loaf pan.

No comments:

Post a Comment