Recipe > Baking
Banana, Cardamon and Cinnamon Cake
I learnt my pastry in a small bakers in north london, I had to be at work for 03:30am and during the cold english winter this was pure hell. Yet there was always something comforting in the smell of freshly baked breads, cakes and patisserie, the smell of fresh banana cake was the most pungent, its gentle fragrances would linger for hours, warming the soul and invigorating tired minds.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
255g / 9oz butter
130g / 4.5oz caster sugar
1.5 Tsp vanilla essence
1 Tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tsp ground ginger
5 cardamon pods
3 eggs
370g / 13oz self-raising flour
1 Tsp baking powder
6 bananas
130g / 4.5oz raisins

Mise-en-Place:
Preheat oven to gas mark 3/ 170°C/ 325°F
Line a 8 inch cake tin with baking parchment and grease with melted butter
Weigh the ingredients
Beat the eggs together
Remove the seeds from the cardamon pods, discard the husks
Cut half a banana into slices (for garnish)
Mash the remaining bananas

Method:
With an electric whisk or in a mixer;
Cream the butter and cream until light and fluffy
Add the vanilla and spices
Slowly beat the eggs in bit-by-bit until fully incorporated. (Do not rush this stage, if you add the eggs too quickly the mix will split. If it looks like this is happening (think scrambled egg look) add a small handful of the flour)
Add the remaining ingredients
Fold mix into cake tin
Bake 45-50 minutes
To test if done insert a skewer into the cake, when you pull it out it should be moist but not wet.

Chef Tip:
To mash the bananas either throw them into the mixer for 30 seconds or use a 'stabbing' motion with a whisk.

Where you went wrong:
Unrisen or flat cake: Incorrectly measured ingredients / Oven not hot enough / You removed the cake before it had finished cooking and as a result it has sunk
Bland taste: Bananas not ripe enough

Cowboy Trick: Got a flat, unrisen cake but still need to serve it? Slice in half (horizontally), liberally spread apricot preserve and clotted cream over one half, then sandwich the other half back on top. The extra filling should give you the extra height that you need.
Still too slim? Try this drastic measure!
Slice the whole cake in half but this time vertically. Spread one half with the clotted cream and apricot preserve, sandwich the other half on top. You'll end up with half a cake that has four layers.