Bananas are my daughter's favorite food. Living in Bali, we are surrounded by banana trees heavy with fruit, and roadside vendors selling all different varieties. So to celebrate Rosie's 2nd Birthday, it seemed only fitting to make her a banana cake with a tropical twist.
Macadamia nuts and toasted shredded coconut.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (walnuts or pecans would also be great)
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- 1 tspn baking soda
- 1 tspn ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 cup mashed banana
- 1 ½ cups tinned pineapple (drained of most of the syrup, but still juicy, and roughly chopped)
For the cream cheese frosting:
- ½ stick unsalted butter (softened out of the fridge)
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tspn vanilla essence (optional)
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 ½ cups shredded coconut
Method
Preheat the oven to 350F
Grease a 9" round cake pan with butter, and dust with flour.
Combine the dry ingredients; flour, sugar, desiccated coconut, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Start with the eggs (whisked), then mix in the oil, banana, and pineapple.
Pour the wet batter into the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently fold to combine.
Then pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and cook at 350F for 55 minutes, or until a test skewer comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for around 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Toast the shredded coconut in a small frying pan over medium heat until lightly browned. Keep a close eye on the coconut and stir it frequently as it burns easily.
To prepare the frosting: beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla essence in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the icing sugar, and continue beating until smooth.
Once the cake has completely cooled (if you're in a hurry, you can hasten this process by putting the cake in the fridge), spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Then cover with toasted shredded coconut. Enjoy!
Recipe notes: This cake is dense and moist. It tastes great the next day, straight out of the fridge. It would also make a delicious layer cake. I'd simply double the cake recipe and bake two identical cakes. Then double the frosting recipe so you have enough for in between the two layers.
Ready to go into the oven.
Fresh out of the oven and cooling down before we add the frosting.
Ready to eat... birthday decorations optional!