- 1
Preheat your oven to 180 C (356 F) before making the cake. That way, when you put your cake in the oven, it will be ready to bake.
- 2
As your oven is heating up, take a cake pan, preferably an 8 or 9 inches diameter, and grease it with butter or oil perfectly.
- 3
Lightly dust the greased pan with maida flour so the cake does not stick.
- 4
Knock out the excess flour and set aside the pan.
- 5
In a large mixing bowl, Take the softened butter and the condensed milk.
- 6
Using an electric mixer or whisk, beat them together till they become creamy in mixture.
- 7
The incorporation of air at this step causes a rise in the cake and lightens its texture. Dough Reminder: Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl so that the dough will be uniform in consistency.
- 8
Once you have reached a creamy consistency, add 1 cup of dahi or yoghurt to the mixture.
- 9
Yoghurt not only adds moisture but also gives a very faint but welcome tanginess to balance the sweetness of the cake.
- 10
Mix everything until the dahi is well incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
- 11
Now, take another bowl for your dry ingredients. Mix 1.5 cups maida, one teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Sifting allows air into the flour and disposes the leavening agents uniformly into the batter so that the batter is light and not flat. Fold the dry mixture lightly into the wet mix, formed by butter and the Milkmaid mixture. Fold the two mixtures gently with a spatula or wooden spoon.
- 12
Do not overmix – this could result in a cake that is too dense.
- 13
Mix until no streaks of flour can be seen.
- 14
Add the mashed bananas. You can mash the bananas with a fork to near-smoothness or leave some tiny chunks for texture.
- 15
Fold the mashed bananas with one teaspoon of vanilla essence into the batter. Vanilla flavours enhance the overall taste of the cake, thereby enhancing the fragrance.
- 16
Mix everything gently till well combined
- 17
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and smoothen the surface with a spatula. Spread the batter evenly so that it is uniformly baked.
- 18
Insert that pan into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check the middle of that cake with a toothpick or skewer if it's already cooked or not.
- 19
If it is clean or sticks with only very minimal crumbs, the cake is ready.
- 20
Take the cake from the oven, and let it cool in a pan for 5 minutes.
- 21
This 'steeping' lets it set a little, so then it will come out of the pan nicely.
- 22
After 5 minutes, you just gently push a knife around the edges to loosen and then invert onto a serving plate.
- 23
If you greased and floured the pan sufficiently, the cake should come out quickly.
- 24
Let the cake cool completely before cutting. And yet, though this banana cake is just excellent served plain, it is astonishing with whipped cream plopped on top or drizzled with chocolate sauce or served with a scoop of ice cream for your indulgence!
- 25
Enjoy your homemade banana cake.