Banana Cake

 

1 1⁄2 cups (210g) plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb soda

Pinch salt

125 g unsalted butter, softened and chopped

1 cup (250g) brown sugar

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas

100ml buttermilk (or milk with a 2 t lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Line medium loaf or square tin with baking paper. 
2. Put bananas and eggs in food processor and lightly pulse.
3. Add other ingredients and pulse til just smooth (don’t over process). 
4. Bake in oven for about 55-60 minutes. A skewer inserted in the cake should come out clean. 
5. Ice with lemon icing.

Lemon Icing

1 c pure icing sugar sifted

1 t butter softened

1-2 T lemon juice

Directions:

1. Blend icing sugar and soft butter.
2. Mix in enough lemon juice to make the desired consistency of icing 

Tip: If bananas in fruit bowl are turning blotchy and soft, put straight in freezer rather than the rubbish. When ready to make cake or smoothie, remove and either slice (blackened) peel off, or wait for it to defrost and slide squishy banana out of peel.

Orange Cakes

Orange Cake 1

This recipe from The Cooks Companion by Stephanie Alexander is one of my favourites. It makes a wonderful centrepiece for a morning or afternoon tea.

Best of all its super easy, all made in the food processor.

1 large orange 

2 eggs

125g unsalted butter, softened

3⁄4 cup castor sugar 

225g self-raising flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 190 degree C and butter/grease/line a ring tin.
2. Zest (grated fine peel) and juice orange. 
3. Combine all cake ingredients in a food processor and blend for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. 
4. Pour into prepared tin and bake for 30-35mins. Cool for 5 mins in tin before turning out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before icing. 

Icing:

2 cups icing sugar 

1 tps melted butter 

1 tbs fresh orange

1 tbs Grand Marnier or citrus liqueur 

1 tbs of orange zest/grated peel 

Directions:

1. Beat all icing ingredients except zest until quite smooth, and then add zest.
2. Warm icing over hot water to thin a little and then spread over cake. 

Orange Fairy cakes: small cakes using this orange cake recipe will take 10-15mins to cook in either paper cases or muffin trays.

Orange Cake 2

This recipe is adapted from a recipe found in the AWW Cooking School book "Lemon Syrup Cake".....It is just as good made with oranges.

 

125 g Butter

3 t finely grated orange rind

2/3 cup (150g) castor sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup (160mls) buttermilk... can be made by adding 1 T lemon juice to this qty of milk

2 T orange Juice

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

Orange Syrup

 

1/3 cup (80 ml) orange Juice

1/4 cup (60 ml) water

3/4 cup (165g) castor sugar
 

Directions:

 

1. preheat oven to 180 C/160 C fan forced. grease 23cm baba tin or line a 20 cm square tin or 22cm round tin.

2. Beat butter rind and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

3. Fold in buttermilk and orange juice alternately with the sifted flour in two batches.

4. Spread mixture into pan and bake about 30mins for a baba pan and 40 mins for a square or round tin

5.Cool for 5 mins on a wire rack set over a tray.

6 Meanwhile make up orange syrup. Pour hot syrup over hot cake.

 

Orange Syrup.... Stir ingredients in a small saucepan over heat without boiling until sugar dissolves, simmer, uncovered, without stirring 5 mins.

 

Yum!