Banana Cake with a Twist

"Yikes!" howled fifth brother, "your bananas look like spoilt!"

"Oh, don't worry," I calmly remarked. "That's the way they should be. One more day and they'd be ripened enough for my banana cake, you know."

I have made several batches of banana cakes over the past year. But none came out tasting the way I wanted them to. Somehow the banana flavor wasn't particularly enticing. And yet, having tasted Pisang Raja grown in my wife's family farm in south Thailand, I just couldn't forget how wonderfully fragrant and aromatic fully ripened bananas taste like. And so I began my quest to bake a banana cake that captures that whimsical, sublime banana flavor essence.

After trying recipe variations using Pisang Raja bought from the local supermarts, none of which turned out particularly memorable or flavorful, I began to suspect the flavor-less outcome was due to the commercially grown bananas imported from the Philippines. Those of you fortunate enough to taste freshly-harvested Pisang Raja sun-ripened on the tree will know what I mean.

Commercially grown bananas - whatever the variety - are harvested "green" i.e. months before they are ripened, so they could be shipped to markets around the world, including Singapore's. They are then warehoused by distributors and wholesalers in the respective consumer countries. If you go to supermarts such as Fairprice or Sheng Shiong, you'll see bundles of Pisang Raja under the Dole and Delmonte labels, still somewhat greenish and unripened, waiting for purchase by the consumer. Sure, they will develop some flavor when ripened, but the flavor pales in comparison to fully sun-ripened bananas, freshly plucked from the tree!

Recently I saw bunches of Pisang Belandas from Malaysia at Fairprice. Wow, they are not only 1/2 the price of Delmonte's Pisang Raja, but also has a strong aroma reminiscent of freshly sun-ripened bananas plucked from the tree. I quickly bought a bundle for about S$0.90!

Back home, I immediately twisted and pulled out one banana from the bunch to taste it. Sure enough, the flavor was strong - wonderfully aromatic - indicative of fruit that has been allowed to sun-ripen on the stem for the full flavor to develop!

Why brandy?

Well, previously I had made a fruit cake and was surprised by the wonderful aroma brandy gave to the cake. Hence I decided to add the same brandy to the banana cake mix to see how it would turn out this time.

Additionally, I also decided to add raisins and sultanas on top of the cake mix, finished with a sprinkling of white sesame seed.

Ingredient:

3 over-ripened bananas - store in the fridge until black spots start to appear on the skin, indicative the bananas are over-ripe.

2 T fresh milk
1 T peanut oil
2 eggs - eggs retailed these days tend to be smaller compared to a decade ago, so use 2 or 3.
3 T icing sugar

125 g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 T VSOP brandy

Optional - raisin, sultanas, white sesame seed

Method
1. Beat egg and sugar till frothy and creamy. I use a blender.

2. Mash the bananas with a fork, and mix well with the milk, brandy, and oil. Add to the egg mixture and blend again.

3. Finally add the flour, baking soda and baking powder to the mix, using a sieve to remove lumps. Fold the flour into the mix.

4. Bake at 180-deg C for 40 min.

Use a bamboo stick / skewer to test the cake for doneness. Do not take out the cake prematurely, otherwise the cake may collapse as it cools down. That's what happened when I took out the cake 9-10 min before the scheduled 40 min, as I didn't want the cake to have an over-burnt crust.