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Cake recipe: Cardamom banana bread

Lottie Storey April 13, 2016

A twist on a baking classic, this moist and moreish banana cake contains cardamom, which enhances the fruit’s subtle sweetness

CARDAMOM BANANA CAKE
Serves 8

170g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
5 cardamom pods
4 ripe bananas, mashed
170g caster sugar
3 eggs
115g chopped walnuts
350g plain flour
1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
23⁄4 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
icing sugar to serve (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F and grease a nonstick 25cm square cake tin.
2 Crush the cardamom pods, removing the seeds and discarding the pods. Crush the seeds to release their flavour, add them to the mashed bananas, and set aside.
3 Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric handheld mixer until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat.
4 Next, add the chopped walnuts and mashed banana and fold in. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt over the mixture and gently fold all the ingredients together.
5 Spoon the batter into the buttered cake tin and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out and let cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar.

Recipe from The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook by Salma Hage (Phaidon). Photography by Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton


Read more:

From the April issue

Cake recipes

Middle Eastern recipes

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InEating Tagscake, cake in the house, recipe, issue 46, april, banana bread, brunch recipe
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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