My Nan’s Banana Cake

Banana in any form of cake, loaf, biscuit, cupcake or just plain fruit, reminds me of my Nan’s banana cake. It can instantly transport me back to my childhood when we would go around her house as kids and be treated to a slice for afternoon tea.

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Yes I know that sounds very old fashioned but my Nan is 92 years old and afternoon tea was a big thing for her generation. My mum followed her tradition when we were young; often we would come home from school and be treated to a slice of homemade cake or a homemade biscuit.















But times have changed and mealtimes have gotten earlier so the need for a mid-afternoon meal has disappeared. I don’t follow this tradition at home, but I must admit if I am out and about by mid-afternoon I am always the first to suggest going for a coffee and a bit of cake, and if at all possible I always try and go for the banana cake.

Usually, it comes with lashings of buttercream, which is nice and don’t get me wrong I am not complaining. I am a big advocate of buttercream on cakes, but my Nan never bothered with it. I don’t know if it was because it wasn’t fashionable or if it was because during the war and for many years after butter was on rationing and was really expensive for a long time afterwards. She just simply served it with a lemon icing.

Now bear with me lemon and banana? Honestly, it does work, the lemon icing gives it a nice fresh aftertaste, as banana cake can be very sweet. It really does work. Trust me, go ahead and give it a go.

Now I have to admit to making a few little changes, not because anything was wrong with the original but just a few tweaks. I added an extra banana to the mix for a stronger banana flavour and instead of using vanilla essence I used vanilla extract, I think this is just a change in the times, I don’t use essence in anything I always use an extract instead.

Recipe: