Salted and Marbled Banana Cake
I never thought I would write a recipe for a banana loaf. Not that there is something wrong with it, but it has been a while that it is not in my usual baking habits to make one.
When I was a student in Vancouver, I was making simple cakes and loaves that lasted a few days and were not time-consuming, and banana bread was one of them. I was not following any recipe but combining the ingredients I had in my pantry, and I supposed they harmonized.
A few weeks ago, we received a large basket of over-ripe bananas, and finally, it was time for me to experiment with making one again. This banana cake is moderately sweet with nutty undertones. Always use over-ripe bananas as they create a loaf cake that is deeper in flavor.
If your bananas aren't over-ripe yet and you want to make this loaf, there are a few ways to ripen them. Here is the link to Epicurious's guide on How to Make Bananas Ripen Exactly When You Want Them To.
This loaf is easy to make, and keeps well up to three days in an airtight container. Enjoy warm or toasted with some butter or at room temperature.
Ingredients
160 grams all-purpose flour
60 grams fine-grind spelt flour
12 grams dutch-process cocoa powder
80 grams superfine sugar
100 grams cane sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 free-range eggs, at room temperature
100 + 20 grams salted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla purée
3 over-ripe bananas, mashed loosely with a fork
Method
Preheat the oven to 175 C. Generously grease a loaf pan with butter and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
Start by browning the butter. Place 120 grams of butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan gently and continuously until the butter melts and turns golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Weight the browned butter (it must have reduced a bit because of evaporation), and add the rest of the butter to the warm browned butter one teaspoon at a time until you have 120 grams in total. Set aside.
Sift the flours, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter and sugars with a balloon whisk until well incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time until the mixture is unified and shiny.
Add the mashed bananas followed by the vanilla purée to the wet mixture.
Add the dry ingredients (except for the cocoa powder) to the wet ones, and mix until just combined. It's important not to over-mix the batter as it affects the texture.
In a small mixing bowl, combine a few tablespoons of the batter with the cocoa powder until mixed. Pour half of the regular batter into the prepared pan, and spoon the chocolate batter on top. Top with the rest of the batter.
Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs. Leave to cool before slicing and serving the cake.
Notes
I like to mash the bananas loosely to have a few pea-sized pieces in the batter. If this is something that does not interest you, mash them well.
You can add a handful of chopped walnuts for some crunchiness!
For browning the butter, I suggest using a light-colored saucepan as it allows you to survey the butter's color more easily.
