Banana cake may not be one of the most exciting cakes but it really is so delcious especially when you can add other exciting flavours to it too. It is also really simple to make and that is another reason why I love it so much. Banana cake always brings back memories of travelling for me too as it is my friend Marie’s favourite cake. I always remember a day in Chang Mai, Thailand, where we did a cooking course. The course was absolutely fantastic and we made three courses plus a dessert all made from local produce from the farm. We had the choice of  could which curry to make therefore not everyone was cooking the same thing and then we could all try each others at the end. For dessert we made an absolutely delicious Mango and sticky coconut rice dish. I have tried this dish in several thai restaurants in the UK and none have ever come close to the freshness of the mango on that day or the sweetness of the rice.

So it had been an extremely indulgent day, we were all ready to explode on our way home or in dire need of a lie down. As we walked passed markets and food places  on our way home, Marie mentioned how full she was and couldn’t it another thing, she suddenly spotted a bakery where she went in and came out with four slices of banana bread. Someohow she managed to eat the whole lot while at the same time saying she was stuffed! It was incredible that she could eat so much and still be so tiny! Then again we could say banana is somewhat healthy, it counts as one of your day doesn’t it?

This banoffee toffee cake is a twist on your traditional banana cake. I found the recipe on BBC Good Food about eight years ago and I have probably made it more than 10 times. It is one of those cakes which every time I have made, I have received positive comments to which I tell people it is so easy to make. All you need is:

Ingredients

• 200g caster sugar
• 200g softened butter
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 mashed, ripe bananas

Method:

1) Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.2)  In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together including the vanilla extract
3) Mash your bananas up either in a bowl using a fork or place your bananas in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to squash the bananas.
4) Add the bananas to the mixture and beat until you have a smooth, soft batter. 5) Divide the mixture between the tins and use the back of a spoon to smooth the tops 6) Bake for 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. For the filling

• 284ml double cream
• 4 tbsp Banoffee toffee (Merchant Gourmet Banoffee Toffee, from major supermarkets is ideal) this is what bbc good food recommends but I have never actually bought it instead I used:
• 4oz Butter
  4oz Soft brown sugar
  2tbsp Golden syrup
  1 Small tin of evaporated milk
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 packet of Cadburys Crunchie Clusters

1) Place all the ingredients into a pan on a medium heat. 2)  Melt the sugar and bring to a gentle boil stirring occasionally, simmer for 7 mins.  3) Take off heat and leave to cool. When ready it should resemble a toffee colour. 4) Whip the double cream until nice and fluffy. Wait until the toffee sauce is cool and slowly mix in with the cream. Tip: Do not pour this in quickly because it will curdle with the cream and you will be left with an unusable soggy mixture! 4) To serve, spread half of the cream over one of the cakes. 5) Top with a sliced banana. 6) Sandwich together, then cover with more cream then decorate the cake with an elegant drizzle of toffee cream sauce and some chocolate clusters!

This time I made it for work but as my friend Marie lives close to where I work decided to save some for her and her family too so swung by afterwards. It just so happened to be Marie’s mum’s birthday the same day so rather than swinging round for 30 mins to drop off the cake and say Hi, I ended up spending most of my night there, sharing lots of lovely food, more cake and celebrating a wonderful birthday.

Give it a go and let me know what you think.