Sometimes I forget that making vegan food is a skill which non-vegan chefs don’t tend to have! We have just returned from a weeks holiday and although the team of chefs (and it was a BIG team of at least twenty chefs at any one meal) tried to be helpful, you could see that this really was something they were not used to!
Okay, so there were quite a lot of salads, some vegetable dishes, lentils and beans, but when it came to dessert… I was offered fruit!
Hmmm! They constantly brought out tray after tray of cute coloured rectangles of cake, mini pots of piped mousse, individual pies and tarts as well as larger sliceable layered cakes.
Would it really be so difficult to create just one thing vegan? Yes, obviously so! There were promises of ‘tomorrow’ – usually by a chef who knew it was a day off (this happened three times in the week)! So, I tried a different tack – can you, cook some bananas in a pan with a bit of oil and sugar, then just sprinkle some nuts on it. ‘Okay, tomorrow!’ Wait what? ‘No, now!’ He looked at me as if I’d just asked him to make vegan profiteroles (ooo, now there’s a plan)! ‘Tomorrow!’ he repeated. ‘Pan, oil, banana, sugar, cook, plate, nuts’ Okay, so maybe the ‘brown sugar’ bit distracted him – surely brown sugar is a thing elsewhere? How hard could it be!? Finally he agreed – not what I had envisioned, but it worked. Then the next day just as we were leaving the table, there it was again (hand delivered by a chef rather than a waiter)! Different nuts, same bananas.
Guess what the first thing I did when I got home was! Yes, I needed dessert! 😛 So, I didn’t really think I had such a sweet tooth (some things never die)! but after a week of missing out when the boys had at least 4 different desserts each for dinner (and sometimes lunch too)! not to mention the pastries, doughnuts and pancakes at breakfast and snack time, then yes, dessert was what I needed!
So, I cooked the bananas how I’d expected them to be cooked and added a sprinkling of cinnamon, then piled them on this lovely cake! Oh it’s a good cake! It’s sweet, it’s sticky and it’s quite an easy one to make! Hooray! Oh, and I wasn’t the first one to have a second slice!!! 😀
If you aren’t bothered about this being vegan, switch the first three ingredients for 3 eggs and just follow the rest of the recipe! I used a ready made caramel spread for the filling and top, but you could quite easily whip up some buttercream, or just use cream instead. Check out the recipe below.
A light chocolate sponge sandwiched with caramel spread, topped with sticky lightly spiced caramelised bananas.
- 4 tablespoons gram flour
- 4 tablespoons cold water
- 5 tablespoons aquafaba (chickpea water)
- 1/2 teaspoon coffee powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons boiling water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g butter
- 150 g sugar
- 145 g plain flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- small knob of butter
- 2 medium bananas (chopped in half, then sliced lengthways)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (we used coconut)
- large pinch cinnamon
- 1/2 jar caramel / spiced biscuit spread (like Biscoff spread)
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Mix the gram flour with the cold water and set aside. Whisk the aquafaba until it gets white and frothy. Mix the coffee, cocoa and boiling water together until dissolved, then add the vanilla.
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Cream the butter and the sugar until it is light and fluffy. Add the gram flour egg, then the cocoa mix and gently mix. Sieve the flour into the bowl with the baking powder and loosely mix in. Pour the whisked aquafaba in and mix everything together well.
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Spoon into a lined or greased 8″ tin, level the surface and bake at Gas Mark 3 (325f / 160c) for 45-50 minutes. The cake should pull away from the sides when cooked and a clean skewer inserted into the cake should come out clean. Leave in the tin for ten minutes, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool fully.
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Whilst the cake is cooking, prepare the bananas. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the banana slices cut side down, then sprinkle with the sugar. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then turn over and sprinkle with the cinnamon. Remove from the pan before the sugar caramelises too much. Allow to cool.
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When the cake is cool, carefully slice it in half, then spread a thin layer of your caramel spread over the centre of one round. Cover the top of the other round with the spread, then sandwich them together. Arrange your cooled bananas on top. Enjoy!
- You can make the sponge and sandwich / top with your favourite filling. We used a ready made Biscoff spread, but cream, chocolate spread, caramel sauce or buttercream would work equally well.
- The bananas can be cooked with or without the addition of spice – cinnamon is delicious on them though!
- You could make extra bananas and add them to the centre of the cake.
- Sprinkle chopped nuts, or grate some chocolate over the top of the cake!
- Store covered (no need to refrigerate unless using cream) for up to three days.
I’m sharing this over at Angie’s Fiesta Friday and I hope you will join us over there! It’s a great place to see lots of foods you wouldn’t usually, find some great tips and meet some lovely people! 😀 This week the party is co-hosted by Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and by Angie herself (again)! Feel free to offer your time as a co-host… it’s great fun and the Fiesta needs you! 😀
Here are a few items you might find useful when making this delicious cake!
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If you make this Banoffee Cake, or a variation thereof, please share using #LifeDietHealth or tag us @LifeDietHealth We love to see your interpretations and inspirations from our suggestions! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and you can subscribe to follow this blog too!
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We hope you have a fabulous weekend and a great week! Have fun!
Speak soon
Laurena x