The Banana Bread Renaissance
Wake up everybody, it's back and better than ever. My Chocolate, Dulce De Leche & Pecan Banana Bread and my take on a Uruguayan Chaja has your weekend plans sorted.
This is your polite weekly reminder that I spent TWO YEARS writing a book.
Are we harping on about this for another week? Absolutely. My debut baking book: One Bake Two Ways is OUT THIS YEAR (May 23rd in the UK, July 30th for US/Canada, July 3rd Aus/NZ) and is available to PREORDER NOW! Over 320 pages, I’ll be guiding you through some utterly deliciously filthy bakes all with the same sass and usual bad jokes. This book is a book for EVERYONE. Whether you eat dairy, are plant-based or are egg-free – every bake has a like for like vegan recipe meaning NO ONE MISSES OUT.
I know I am biased when I say this but One Bake Two Ways is truly the book I wish I had when I first started baking – I am here to make baking fun and approachable no matter what your skill set so whether you’re limited to burning toast or are a budding Paul Hollywood (minus the grump), this book is FOR YOU.
The good people at Waterstones have given me a discount code solely for my newsletter friends – UK folk, this one is for you. My US friends (and further afield), here is the Amazon link. A little reminder that YOU DO NOT PAY FOR THE BOOK UNTIL IT SHIPS – so yes, whilst you pre-order now, no money is taken until it’s on its merry little way to you.THANK YOU so much for those of you who have supported me so far with it and have pre-ordered. For everyone else, we are no longer friends.
First up this week, we have the latest cake from my ‘Around The World’ series – a Uruguayan Chaja Cake. It is an incredibly delicious and springy number, which opts for tinned peaches opposed to fresh, meaning it is pretty much perfect for any time of the year…including right now. There are ways you can cheat this cake it is on your plate quicker, so make sure you check out ‘Rubes Recommends’ for where you can save yourself time and how to manage the bake because boy, it is a bit of a slog BUT so worth it.
And for the main bake of the day, I’m dishing the dirt on my go-to Banana Bread. Don’t worry, breathe away that fear, you’ve not found yourself lost in time in 2019 amongst the barrage of banana bread on your insta feed but I thought 4 years is a good enough amount of time for the hatred (and mild ptsd) over something so innocent to dissipate to the point where we may actually miss it?
My version is deliciously moist, incredibly yummy and essentially idiot-proof, so it’s perfect for you (joking, reeeelax). I made a few of these loaves (or is it cakes?) this week to make sure I got this just perfect and I can’t lie. I did on the very first time, I just kept on baking more and more of it because it TRULY IS the best banana bread I have ever eaten IN MY LIFE. A bold statement but you should know me by now, I won’t serve up nothing short of filth and there is zero chance I am putting my name to something that doesn’t make me want to go full Bruce Bogtrotter on it. This Chocolate, Dulce de Leche and Pecan Banana Bread number is going to leave you chomping on the loaf like its an apple. And we all know apples are healthy…ergo…
So as much as I love my ‘Around The World’ series, sometimes when I see that the next upcoming cake is from a repeat offending country (an incredible backhanded compliment btw), sometimes I let out a little sigh before cracking on. A sigh not because I am not excited but a sigh because I am mildly living vicariously through the series. When in my lifetime will I get an opportunity to visit all these countries and try all these delights? I’m never one for pessimism but even I know that achievement is slightly beyond my grasp (time and bank balance know how to humble me like no other).
In just under a year I have visited Indonesia, Vietnam, France, German, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Sweden and the Philippines to name but a few, all from the comfort of my own kitchen. Which is why I was THRILLED, utterly thrilled to have made it to a new country, serving up some new deliciousness. With this whole load of newness comes new techniques, new methods and new appreciation for food. What I thought I knew goes out the window and each week I am delighted (more often than not) with a cake I’ve either never heard of, never tried or never made.
To think that this series came about as a distraction and to serve as mild relief from when I was writing my book tickles me. This series has now ENGULFED my life. Each week I am already looking ahead. Each week I am excited to share my findings. And each week I am off on my jollies to a new part of the world. Am I lucky? Nope. The luckiest? Yes.
Up next in my hopefully never-ending series is a Uruguayan Chaja Cake. This delightfully springy number is a bit of effort but SO worth it. Made up of light, soft sponges, smothered in a vanilla whipped cream, with layers of dulce de leche and fresh peach and covered in crisp, crunchy meringue cause the rest just wasn't enough. As much as I love a good choccy cake, sometimes nothing beats a cream and fresh fruit cake. Why? Cause I'm able to eat more of it.
The recipe for this may not be authentic (it truly isn't as it is mine) BUT I researched a tonne and word on the street is (street being google), no one has the OG recipe so here we go. I DID however spend a lot of time ploughing through different recipes of it online to make sure I was at least on the right lines when developing the recipe. Normally when I do this and have gone too off piste, Instagram sure will let me know (never knew people to be so patriotic over cake, it’s quite cute really) but this time...we come off unscathed. YAY!
Would I recommend making this? Absolutely but do it when you have a bit of time and PREP lots in advance. Construct on the day of eating and speedily demolish cause that meringue ain’t waiting for no one.
Recipe Makes: 3 x 18 cm / 7 inch tins
Recipe Serves: 12
Meringue
80 ml Egg Whites (preferably NOT from fresh eggs)
Pinch of Salt
80 g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
75 g Icing Sugar, sifted
Sponge
4 Large Eggs
180 g Caster Sugar
20 ml Vegetable Oil
150 g ‘00’/Plain/AP Flour, sifted
25 g Cornflour/Starch, sifted
1 tsp Baking Powder, sifted
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
Filling
1 x 397 g Tin Condensed Milk
1 x 415 g Tinned Peaches, inc syrup
Whipped Cream
150 g Mascarpone, fridge temp
35 g Icing Sugar, sifted
1.5 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
700 ml Double Cream, fridge temp
M E T H O D -
For the meringue, preheat your oven to 90°C/200°F and line two trays with baking paper.
Add the egg whites and salt to a stand mixer bowl and use the whisk attachment to mix on a medium speed until the whites begin to foam.
Begin to add the caster sugar 1 tbsp at a time, giving each addition ample time to mix and dissolve. Once all the sugar has been added, continue mixing on a high speed until you reach stiff peaks.
Add the vanilla bean paste and the icing sugar to the bowl and mix until combined.
Scoop the meringue onto the baking trays and use a palette knife to spread over a nice even, thin layer.
Place the trays on the bottom shelves of the oven (to prevent browning) and leave to bake for 2.5 hours.
Once the time is up, don’t open the oven, just leave the meringue to cool for at least an hour (preferably overnight) to completely dry out. Remove from the oven, break up the meringue and store in a sealed container until needed.
The other time costly part is making the dulce de leche. Grab a saucepan and fill with water. Submerge the condensed milk tin until fully covered, pop the lid on and place over a medium heat.
Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it do it’s thing for 2.5 hours. Take a look every so often and keep topping up the pan with more water to ensure the tin is always covered.
Once done, drain the water and allow the tin to completely cool. Once cooled, remove contents and transfer half to a piping bag – the other half you can save to make my chocolate banana bread OR to drizzle on top of ice cream, add to cake batters, buttercreams or sandwiching shortbread biscuits.
For the sponge, preheat the oven to 150°C Fan/340°F/Gas Mark 4.
Start by adding the eggs and sugar to a stand mixer bowl. Use the whisk attachment to mix the eggs for 8 minutes on a high speed, until light, fluffy and doubled in volume.
After 8 minutes, reduce the speed to the lowest setting and slowly and carefully pour in the oil down the side of the bowl. Don’t get sad when the volume reduces slightly.
Into a separate bowl, add the flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder. Give that a mixy mix before adding the flour into the main bowl in thirds. Gently fold the flour in after each addition, adding the vanilla bean paste to the last.
Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure there are no flour pockets before evenly distributing the batter between the 3 tins.
Pop into the oven and bake for 22 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the sides of the sponge have come away from the tin.
Allow the sponges to sit for a few minutes before turning them out and loosely wrapping in clingfilm/saran wrap. Leave to completely cool. If your sponges have domed tops, flip the sponges over whilst they are cooling to help level out or use a serrated knife once cooled for an even top.
Prep the peach filling by draining the tinned peaches, making sure you reserve the juice. Don’t let that sweet goodness go down the drain! Finely dice the peach slices, pop back into a sieve and leave to one side (they will continue to let out juice and we don’t want a sloppy cake).
Once everything is cooled, make the whipped vanilla cream. I opted for a stabilized whipped vanilla cream for a bit more longevity so pop the mascarpone (our stabilizer) into a bowl, alongside the icing sugar and vanilla bean paste.
Using a whisk attachment, mix until smooth. Pour in the double cream and mix on a low to med speed to ensure you don’t overmix. Once the cream hits medium peak (i.e holds a soft peak) STOP. The cream will become stiff and overworked super quickly and will continue to stiffen whilst you smush it around the cake.
To construct, add a tiny bit of cream to the base of your serving plate. This will act like a glue to prevent any slipping cakes. Grab a pastry brush and your reserved peach syrup. Generously brush the syrup over the tops of each sponge.
Place a sponge onto your serving plate. Add a thin layer of whipped cream on top and level out using an offset palette knife. Pop some cream into a piping bag and pipe a line of cream around the edge to create a dam.
Pipe the dulce de leche into the middle and use the back of a spoon to smooth over. Grab your meringue and crunch up to small pieces. Generously sprinkle some over the top of the dulce de leche, creating a nice even layer.
Place the second sponge on top. Repeat the cream and dam process. This time fill the middle with half of your diced peaches.
Place the final sponge on top and use half of the remaining cream to crumb coat before popping in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
Use any remaining cream for the final coating before popping back in until serving.
Just before serving, crunch up the meringue (to whatever size tickles your pickle but for slicing purposes, I went small) and use your hand to press the meringue into the sides. Generously coat the sides and top.
Add the remaining diced peach on top and a few sprigs of fresh mint (optional). Use a hot knife to slice and serve.
Moving onto the main bake of the day, it’s time for my Chocolate, Dulce de Leche & Pecan Banana Bread. If that doesn’t get your juices flowing (does that sound weird?) then the subtle warmth of the cinnamon and cardamom running through the sponge should do it. If neither of these spices do it for you, I am afraid to say, you are a lost cause. BUT trust me on it, okay? I used to think my Banana Bread version 1.2 was good. But this version? Version 1.3? ELITE. God tier. Otherworldly good.
I know it isn’t common practice to toot ones own horn but oh lordy, I am tooting. I am rootily tootily tooting it because this Banana Bread will hands down beat any other you have tried. All I need to mention is dulce de leche and you should just KNOW the power this recipe holds. It is like a comforting, warming, hug in a slice. It has the joy of Christmas morning, the warmth of a sunny spring afternoon, the smell which makes your eyes widen, the texture which leaves you insatiable and the appeal of the baddest boy around. You know the type that will inevitably ghost you but whilst they are there, life feels f*cking fantastic. How I am romanticizing banana bread to this extent I’ll never know but here we are.
We have gone for a marbled number with this loaf for hits of choccy but you can double up the quants of the cocoa for an all over choc loaded bonanza. Chocolate, Dulce de Leche & Pecans are the holy trinity you didn’t know about – the depth of yum you get from each addition leaves you with the most moreish bite. We are using up the Dulce de Leche from the previous recipe (we are thrifty over here) but if you are starting afresh, you can save any leftover to add to cookies, sandwich biscuits, buttercreams (like my whipped mascarpone one here from my birthday cake last year), cake batters, spread on toast, straight off a spoon or drizzled straight into the pie hole.
Recipe Makes: 1 x 2 lb deep loaf tin
Recipe Serves: 6 (or generously 4)
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Last Bite to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.