Name: Banana Cake with Lemon Icing
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients: 130g unsalted butter; 130g caster sugar; 2 large eggs; 180g plain/all-purpose flour; 1¼ teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon fine salt; 1 tablespoon milk; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 200g very ripe bananas (roughly 2 medium sized bananas); 200g icing sugar; 7 - 8 teaspoons lemon juice (I use 7½)

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Moist, sweet, fluffy sponge cake bursting with banana flavour and topped with a delicious lemon water icing. The slight tang from the lemon complements the sweet banana and the slightly crispy icing brings a wonderful texture contrast to the soft, light sponge.

Whipped up in less than 5 minutes, this incredibly simple yet luscious cake is perfect with a cup of tea or coffee at any time of the day. I made this batch for Charlotte to take to work yesterday. We have been thrust into further lockdown restrictions due to escalating numbers of the new strain of COVID 19 which is running rampant. Hospitals are filling and currently 1 in 30 people in London are suffering from this deadly virus.

The Trust Charlotte works for is coping, but life is changing on the wards, and everyone involved in healthcare is under a lot more pressure. As the only non-medical person in my home, I resort to what I do know – cooking. If having a few home-made treats makes their load a little more bearable, then I hope I have helped, albeit in just a very small way.

If you fancy treating any key-workers, either in healthcare, education or other workers in key jobs who make life work for the rest of us, this cake has received the thumbs up from NHS staff in this corner of south west London. It just needs a few store cupboard ingredients, as well as a couple of past-their-best bananas, and you are good to go. Don’t forget your rainbow coloured sprinkles! 🌈

The recipe is based on my Classic Sponge Cake/Pudding – Core Recipe. You simply add mashed banana, vanilla extract and some additional flour to balance the extra moisture the bananas add. All mixed in one bowl in less than a minute, it could not get any easier.

How to make Banana Cake with Lemon Icing

Line the baking tin:

In order to guarantee soft and fluffy cakes, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger, the depth of your cake batter will be less and the cake will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and cook more slowly.

Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

Collect all your ingredients for the cake together:

unsalted butter
caster sugar
eggs
plain flour
baking powder
fine salt
milk
vanilla extract
2 past their best, spotty bananas

How to make the cake:

NB It is important to make sure the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat easily with the other ingredients.

Mash the bananas
Measure all the remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl. I place my mixing bowl on top my scales and weigh everything in directly.
Use an electric whisk to beat until combined. This should take less than a minute. All done.
Tip into your lined baking tin and level the surface, ensuring the cake goes into all the corners.
Bake in a preheated oven for 35 – 40 minutes until cooked.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then, using the greaseproof paper over-hang, transfer to a cooling rack.

Make the Lemon Icing

When the cake has cooled completely, make the icing.

Collect all your icing ingredients together:

200g icing sugar
2 tablespoons and ½ teaspoon lemon juice
sprinkles

How to make the icing:

Weigh the icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add the lemon juice.
Mix to a thick paste. Beat vigorously ensuring that there are no lumps.
Leave the cake in the baking paper and slot back into the tin – this hep to keep the shape of the icing. Pour the icing on top.
Spread to level over the surface and liberally scatter with sprinkles.
Leave the icing to set for a couple of hours and then slice into squares

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.

Banana Cake with Lemon Icing

Course afternoon tea, Morning Coffee, Snack, treat

Keyword banana, cake, lemon icing, Sponge

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Author Susan

Ingredients

For the banana cake:

130g unsalted butter
130g caster sugar
2 large eggs
180g plain/all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200g very ripe bananas (roughly 2 medium sized bananas)

For the icing:

200g icing sugar
7 – 8 teaspoons lemon juice (I use 7½)

Instructions

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4
Make the cake: mash the bananas
Measure all the remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl. I place my mixing bowl on top my scales and weigh everything in directly.
Use an electric whisk to beat until combined. This should take less than a minute. All done.
Tip into your lined baking tin and level the surface, ensuring the cake goes into all the corners.
Bake in a preheated oven for 35 – 40 minutes until cooked. It is cooked when:
– the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains
– a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean
– the cake is beginning to come away from the sides of the tin/dish.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then, using the greaseproof paper over-hang, transfer to a cooling rack.
Make the Lemon Icing: when the cake has cooled completely, make the icing.
Weigh the icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add 7 teaspoons of the lemon juice. Add more slowly, as needed.
Mix to a thick paste. Beat vigorously ensuring that there are no lumps.
Leave the cake in the baking paper and slot back into the tin – this helps to keep the shape of the icing. Pour the icing on top.
Spread to level over the surface and liberally scatter with sprinkles.
Leave the icing to set for a couple of hours and then slice into squares. You can cut into 9, 12 or 16!

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

kitchen scales and measuring spoons
mixing bowl
electric whisk
20cm/8inch square tin lined with baking parchment
cooling rack

Room Temperature Butter:

It is important to make sure the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat easily with the other ingredients.

Banana Cake with Lemon Icing