Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache

For those who have never baked before, baking can seem very daunting. I know it was for me. I did not know where to start or what to do. Even most of the recipes that were said to be simple just looked scary with all the random ingredients and instructions a page long. Today’s recipe is a good one for beginners. It’s a basic moist and delicious banana cake recipe with an even simpler chocolate ganache. There are no surprise ingredients in here, just your everyday ones and the instructions are fairly simple to follow.  For anyone who is going to try their hand at baking for the very first time, here are a few tips that I wish I had known before I started baking.

1.      Read a recipe completely. No skimming or scanning. Go through the whole recipe ingredient by ingredient, step by step at least twice. This is so you don’t get halfway through the recipe and realize you've accidentally overlooked a key ingredient or tool needed.

2.      Always bring your standard ingredients like eggs, butter and milk to room temperature unless the recipe specifically calls for cold ingredients. In case you forget this step to quickly bring eggs to room temperature just immerse them in a bowl of warm water. And I've also read somewhere to soften butter quickly, grating the butter will help.

3.      Always preheat your oven. Almost every recipe has this as the first step for a reason!

4.      Always using proper measuring tool unless specified otherwise. Use the liquid measuring jars for liquids and the nested measuring cups for dry ingredients.

5.      Sifting your flour and baking soda and baking powder does really make a positive difference to the texture of the cakes.

So now that’s out of the way, here’s yet a banana cake with chocolate ganache recipe that you are going to love. It is super simple and easy to follow. And of course, the end result is yum! With regards to the ganache, don’t let the fancy name put you off. It’s even simpler to make than it sounds. It requires just two ingredients- chocolate and fresh cream and voila you have a decadent frosting to top your cake with. Please do try these recipes out and I’d love to hear how it turned out for you. Also feel free to send me pictures of your cakes too J

Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache

For Cake

Recipe Source: Bakericious

Makes two 8 inch cakes 

Ingredients 

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

250g salted butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
4 eggs (at room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 bananas)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Grease and line two 8 inch round baking tins with baking paper.
2. Sift together the plain flour, baking soda and baking powder. Keep aside. 
3. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
4. Add in eggs, vanilla essence and milk and mix well.
5. Add mashed banana into the mixture and mix well.
6. Finally add in sifted flour and mix well and pour into a prepped cake tin.
7. Bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top layer turns brown after 15 minutes, cover it with a piece of aluminium foil and continue to bake.
8. Cool cakes in the pan for 10 minutes then move onto a cooling rack.

For Ganache

Ingredients

400 grams dark chocolate, broken into pieces

250mls fresh cream

Method

1. Pour the cream into a medium pot and heat it until it is almost but not quite boiling. You’ll know it’s ready when bubbles start to form around the edge of the pot. 
2. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate.Let it sit undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is fully melted into the cream. 
3. Whisk until smooth and glossy. When you start to stir it, you think it won’t come together, but it will.
4. Allow to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. For fluffier icing, allow to cool until thick and then whisk until light and fluffy.