Marea’s One Bowl Banana Cake
Great recipes become even greater when they are shared! My dear friend Marea shared this recipe with me over ten years ago and I have made it almost every week since. It is moist and fluffy with a hint of sweetness, and I love adding a scattering of dark chocolate chunks into the mixture, or a handful of chopped walnuts to zjoosh it up a little. I always make it on days that we film with a crew because everyone loves a slice for morning tea, and it is the cake I always drop off to friend’s doorsteps for a sweet surprise when they need it most. I often make an extra cake, slice it, and freeze it into portions - ready to add to school lunchboxes when I don’t have anything else on hand.
It is the easiest, no-nonsense, fuss-free banana cake recipe I have come by - throw everything in one bowl and mix! It has been adopted by everyone I know as their go-to Banana cake recipe. And that’s the magic in sharing great recipes - that cycle of spreading sweet joy goes on and on and on! I guarantee that if you make this recipe once, it will form part of your recipe repertoire and be on repeat regularly! Happy baking!
INGREDIENTS FOR MAREA’S BANANA CAKE
4 ripe bananas, peeled
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 and 1/2 cups self raising flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces, chopped walnuts or sultanas (optional)
HOW TO MAKE MAREA’S BANANA CAKE
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius
2. Place three of the bananas in a medium sized bowl. Using the back of a fork, mash the bananas, leaving them a little chunky.
3. Add the eggs, oil, flour, baking powder, cinnamon (and the chocolate, walnuts or sultanas if you are using them) to the bowl. Using a fork, stir until everything is well combined.
4. Line a 20cm by 11cm loaf tin with baking paper, leaving 5cm overhang on each side (this will help easily remove the cake from the tin).
5. Place the mixture into the tin. Slice the remaining banana in half legthways and gently press it into the top of the cake. Bake in the oven for 60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes before removing.