Sharing a part of my childhood
Highway Mail journalist Nohlanhla Hlatshwayo shares her old-time favourite banana cake recipe.
The festive season is a sentimental time, and in the 25 years of my life, I have sure collected a few memories. The banana cake is one of many recipes my mom taught me, and my first bake was when I was 12 years old. I have always known my mom to be a great cook – you would swear her teaching qualification came with culinary skills. I always remember being right beside her in the kitchen and almost tripping her over sometimes.
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Apart from being intrigued by what my mom was doing in the kitchen, I was just a little girl who admired her mom and loved being in her presence, and the feeling is still the same. It somewhat feels like I am sharing a part of my childhood recipe; it takes me back to when my face would beam with pride when my family had a piece during Christmas lunches. Though these moments have become fewer as I grew, I was surprised to learn that I still know the recipe off by heart, and I have managed to also tweak the recipe a bit to get the desired banana cake. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family always has.
Banana-Flavoured Muffins/Cake
Ingredients:
4 cups of cake flour
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
2 or 1 ½ cups of sugar (depending on your sugar intake)
8 tsp of baking powder
1 ½ cups of mashed ripe banana
3 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla essence
250g of butter/margarine
Fresh milk
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Method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Crack your eggs and add 1 tsp of the vanilla essence.
- Add the butter/margarine, followed by the mashed ripe banana.
- Add this mix to the dry ingredients and mix well. Turn the oven on at 180 degrees while you’re at it. (This is to warm up the oven.)
- Once you have mixed the dry and liquid (wet) ingredients, add milk. I do not have a specific measurement of the milk; I just pour enough for the dough to be runny, but not too runny. Mix well.
- Grease your pans with either butter, margarine or cooking oil. Pour your dough into the pans, and place them in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
